As of: 04/09/2022 8:19 p.m
1. FC Union once again proved its supremacy in Berlin with a 4-1 win against Hertha BSC in the Bundesliga. After the 2-0 win in the first leg and the success in the cup round of 16, it was the third derby win for the Köpenickers this season. For Hertha it was a major setback against their arch-rivals in the fight to stay up.
In a largely one-sided game, Genki Haraguchi (31′), Grischa Prömel (53′), Sheraldo Becker (74′) and Sven Michel (85′) scored the goals for Union. Timo Baumgartl scored an own goal in favor of Hertha (49th), who once again showed a disappointing performance and, in 17th place, increasingly found themselves in relegation difficulties.
Magath has an ace up his sleeve – but it’s not a trump card
Hertha coach Felix Magath had a surprise in store long before kick-off. With Julian Eitschberger, he put a very young debutant in the starting XI. “I don’t know him either,” said Magath on “Sky” about the 18-year-old, who “only trained twice”, but was “impressed”. “We need a player with energy and drive,” said Magath.
In the game, however, there was nothing to be seen from his team. Union dominated the Berlin derby at will and Hertha could only thank goalkeeper Marcel Lotka that it didn’t become clear early in the game – also because Eitschberger had big problems on the flank.
In the fourth minute, Lotka parried a Baumgartl header from close range. The 20-year-old showed further strong deeds against Niko Gießelmann (13th), Taiwo Awoniyi (17th) and Becker (29th). Union was only able to use the fifth big chance, Haraguchi redeemed the guests with the 1-0 with a diving header (31st).
Brief glimmer of hope for Hertha
Only then did Hertha make the first good moves. Myziane Maolida shot a volley from eleven meters but just wide of the goal (38th). After the break, a Union defender took over the scoring for Hertha. Baumgartl stumbled the ball on his arm while attempting to clear and from there into his own goal – the 1:1 (49th).
However, there was no sign of an upswing from the “old lady”. Just four minutes later, Prömel brought Union back into the lead, heading in from a Gießelmann cross to make it 2-1 (53′). Big cheers from the 12,000 Union fans in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, which was sold out for the first time since January 2020 with 74,667 spectators.
Becker puts the lid on it
The red-clad “Iron” were happy about the decision in the 74th minute. After a through ball from Schäfer, Becker ran away from the Hertha defense, kept calm in front of Lotka and made it 3-1 for Union. Michel even scored the fourth goal for the guests shortly before the end (85th).
Thanks to the victory, coach Urs Fischer’s team is back in seventh place with 44 points and still has high hopes of qualifying for the European Cup – not only because of the semi-finals in the DFB Cup. It’s getting really dark for Hertha.
Six point game for the Magath team
Accordingly, a real relegation hit is coming up next weekend. On Saturday (April 16, 2022), Hertha will be visiting FC Augsburg at 3:30 p.m. Union meets Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday at 5.30 p.m.
Source: sportschau.de