Three times behind, three times against: 1. FC Union Berlin fought for a draw in the Europa League in a thrilling round of 16 first leg and got the chance to reach the quarter-finals. The Berliners struggled against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise at their home stadium An der Alten Försterei and ended up 3-3 (1-1). In front of 21,700 spectators, Victor Boniface (28th and 72nd minutes) and Yorbe Vertessen (58th) put the visitors ahead three times. Josip Juranovic (42′), Robin Knoche (69′) and substitute Sven Michel (89′) each scored the equalizer for Köpenick.
“3:3 is okay,” said captain Christopher Trimmel, but complained about the individual mistakes before the goals were conceded. Not every action was bad, so “we remain positive”. His teammate Knoche criticized that the team lacked cleverness when conceding goals. “The opponent shoots at goal three times and we concede three times. That can’t happen to us,” said Knoche, who missed a hand penalty and only converted the goal in the follow-up shot.
Both teams met in the preliminary round. The Belgians won in Berlin in September and inflicted Union’s only home defeat this season. In the second leg in Anderlecht next week, the Berliners need a win to progress after regular time. A draw would mean extra time and a possible penalty shootout.
Leverkusen fought a 2-0 win over Ferencváros Budapest
For Bayer Leverkusen, however, the eighth place in the quarter-finals of a European cup is within reach. With the 2:0 (1:0) in the round of 16 first leg against the Hungarian champions Ferencváros Budapest, Leverkusen laid a good foundation for the next duel. Kerem Demirbay with an early goal (10′) and Edmond Tapsoba with a late goal (86′) sealed the hard-fought but fitting victory for Xabi Alonso’s team.
Final point: Edmond Tapsoba seals Leverkusen’s win over Ferencváros Budapest.
(Photo: Harald Bremes/Jan Huebner/Imago)
Before the eyes of DFB sporting director Rudi Völler, who was sporting director at Bayer until the end of last season, the Leverkusen team initially found no solution against the deep-leaning Budapest team. Until Demirbay took heart and didn’t give Ferencváros keeper Denes Dibusz a chance with his shot.
Bayer initially controlled events without creating any further chances. That almost took revenge when Kristoffer Zachariassen appeared free in front of Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky and lifted the ball over the Finn to the crossbar. After the break, Ferencváros continued to look for counterattacks, and in the final stages Tapsoba was there from a free-kick.
The second leg should be another hot game. The 33-time Hungarian champion is moving to the Puskas Arena, which has a capacity of almost 70,000, and where the final will also take place on May 31. Over 50,000 tickets have already been sold.
Freiburg is supported by 2100 fans
SC Freiburg, on the other hand, missed the hoped-for coup against world club Juventus Turin. Coach Christian Streich’s team lost their first leg against the Italian record champions on Thursday 0-1 (0-0). The goal of the evening was scored in this duel by the outstanding Argentinian world champion Angel Di Maria with a header shortly after the break.
The SC was supported by around 2100 supporters. It would have been far more if the Italians hadn’t canceled the tickets that Freiburg fans had organized through a short-term Juve membership. In the end, smaller SC fan groups also found themselves outside of the guest area.
The Badeners showed a courageous, offensive, but harmless performance over long stretches. Your supposed compensation by Lucas Höler (62nd) was denied because of a previous handball. Nevertheless, the starting position of SC Freiburg before the second leg against Italy’s record champions in the coming week is still passable.