The game between 1. FC Union Berlin and the ball game club Borussia from Dortmund was over, and the usual protocol in the stadium at the Alte Försterei was thrown out the window. Unlike usual, people didn’t initially pay homage to their own team. Instead, the referee bombarded him with curses: shouts of “Hoyzer” swelled into a mighty chorus. The reason: a contentious scene in front of the goal that made the final score 2-0 (90th), made by the Dutchman Ian Maatsen, when Union seemed closer to equalizing than BVB to victory.
Josip Juranovic had lost the ball to Maatsen in the center circle, and the fact that the Dortmund player not only hit the ball but also hit the Croatian’s foot before running alone towards the Köpenick goal gave rise to discussion. Mainly because of the referee’s sometimes rigorous line up to that point. Union coach Nenad Bjelica was then supposed to talk about a “50-50 decision”, which in his previous places of work – Spain, Croatia, Poland, Austria and Italy – would be whistled latently in favor of the “big ones” and never for “the little ones”.
Also in the Bundesliga. He didn’t want to argue too much about it. On the contrary, he was conciliatory. “You can whistle that. We accept that.” And that provided a wonderful template for his Dortmund colleague Edin Terzic to express his relief that Maatsen had actually played the ball.
It was clear that this would not be a football-lyric Saturday between Union and BVB
Dortmund certainly didn’t play their victory brilliantly. But how much the first threesome calmed BVB’s spirits after three games without a win in all competitions could be seen in Terzic’s relaxed facial expressions. Dortmund maintained fourth place in the table against Leipzig, who also won 4-1 at VfL Bochum. “That should definitely give us a boost, because it won’t be any easier in Bremen next week,” summed up BVB goalkeeper Alex Meyer.
It was clear that it wouldn’t be a particularly lyrical Saturday. A union is a union, and BVB has been drifting for some time, which is reflected, among other things, in the fact that discussions about the professional future of coach Terzic have recently taken on a life of their own. But what Dortmund in particular offered in the first 30 minutes fell short of expectations to such an extent that Dortmund’s half-time lead came as something of a surprise thanks to a graceful goal from Karim Adeyemi (41′). The initial phase was basically “a continuation of the game against Hoffenheim” from the previous week, said Terzic. And Dortmund lost 2:3 against Hoffenheim.
The start of the game – more precisely: the real start – was delayed by several minutes. A few seconds after kick-off, the Dortmund fans lit smoke pots, and it obscured the view so much that the game was interrupted for minutes. When it was running again, the question arose as to what was contained in these pots. In any case, BVB’s eleven players seemed dazed for a long time; They didn’t have a single shot on goal in the first half hour. Firstly, they were lucky that Lucas Tousart missed the first chance of the game by pushing the ball past the left post from a tight angle (6th minute). And secondly, every promising counterattack by the Berliners ended up being a cross that went nowhere. “We made bad and wrong decisions before the penalty area,” Bjelica was supposed to say after the game.
It became clear: the Union could only be overcome through individual actions
But after this phase, in which Union were stronger in tackles and more aggressive than BVB, it became apparent that a Dortmund lead would not necessarily hinder the course of the game. The first corner for BVB almost led to the lead because Adeyemi extended the ball with his Jackson Five memory hairstyle to the second post, where Nico Schlotterbeck shot the ball from three meters almost exactly to the Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow (35. ) aimed. Shortly afterwards, the Dane showed in a much more emphatic manner that he is currently one of the best Bundesliga keepers: when he parried a shot from Maatsen that was treacherously deflected by Julian Brandt. Above all, these episodes taught this: that union could be overcome through individual actions. And nobody understood this better than Adeyemi, who received the ball on the right side, entered the penalty area – and curled the ball from the right from 15 meters exactly under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead (41st).
After the break, a paradox arose. Dortmund seemed more confident with their lead than at the start, but they became more apathetic and uninspired going forward the longer the game lasted. While Dortmund’s coach Terzic replaced offensive players and sought defensive stability, particularly by bringing in Salih Özcan, Union’s coach Bjelica clearly went on the attack by gradually bringing in Yorbe Vertessen, Janik Haberer, Brendan Aaronson and Chris Bedia. Alone: Union found it difficult to create chances. A double chance by Hollerbach, who was later substituted, and Kevin Volland (56′) was the only moment until the final phase when Union seemed really close to the goal. As the final minutes approached, Volland and Vertessen scored again. Here too, what Union midfielder Andras Schäfer complained about was true: “There was a lack of consistency.” And Ian Maatsen, who was on loan from Chelsea in the winter, punished that in the end – with his first Bundesliga goal.