Union Berlin coped well with their failed Europa League debut and climbed to the top of the Bundesliga standings for at least a few hours. Three days after the troublesome 0-1 draw against Belgian second-placed Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, the team robbed of coach Urs Fischer deservedly won 1-0 (1-0) at home 1. FC Köln and Bayern Munich ousted from first place.
However, at the start of Sunday evening (17:30 / DAZN) against Borussia Mönchengladbach, SC Freiburg still had a chance to overtake the Köpenickers again at the end of Matchday 6. Cologne center-back Timo Hübers conceded an own goal in the third minute of FC’s first defeat of the season, and shortly thereafter Jordan Siebatcheu (10 minutes) was saved by a highly questionable hand penalty by FC goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe.
Another goal from the showy Sheraldo Becker (14th) does not count for offside. However, in the end, the 13th Bundesliga game of the season remained undefeated. The Union was also delighted with the return of Timo Baumgartl on Sunday, who was on the squad for the first time after recovering from testicular cancer. Cologne central defender Luca Kilian saw the Giallorossi (81st).
FC manager Steffen Baumgart had reorganized his defense and fielded former Union player Kristian Pedersen on the left. Jonas Hector moved to the attacking midfield, but the changes did not help, Cologne did not have access to this formation. Berlin started furiously, forced FC to make mistakes and took the lead with the first attack.
The Union could have scored more goals, but the hosts have just entered the opposing half in an orderly fashion. Therefore, the Cologne team were able to register 0: 1 at half-time almost as a success. The difference in speed, impact and accuracy was too obvious. FC, still facing the scandalous Nice game, failed to deliver an orderly attack in the first half and did not endanger Lennart Grill, who had moved into Berlin’s goal on short notice.
That changed abruptly at the start of the second round. Linton Maina appeared clear in front of Grill after winning a duel in the running, Frederik Rönnow’s rep held fast (47th). However, Köln failed to assert themselves in attack and were quite lucky when a lob from Christopher Trimmel (57th) hit the crossbar at the FC goal.
With the advantage behind them, the Union avoided the risk and focused mainly on the very strong defense. Cologne tried, but found no solutions. After grueling matches on the international stage during the week, both teams lacked freshness and speed. Cologne’s numerous standards were also not accurate enough. Meanwhile, Berlin were waiting for a counterattack to add the second goal.
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