In Barcelona they have to think again about possible Europa League opponents; And that was also noticeable on Sunday. In the venerable newspaper La Vanguardia dedicated a full-page article to the wondrous 1. FC Union Berlin, who led the Bundesliga ahead of Matchday 12, ending with a wish: “May the magic continue.” The request was granted: a week after losing at VfL Bochum, Union turned a 1-0 deficit against Borussia Mönchengladbach with a 97th-minute winner from Danikho Doekhi. Gladbach coach Daniel Farke ended up spoiling his 46th birthday. Union defended the lead in the table at the last minute.
Sunday would also have been the birthday of a far more famous figure in football: Diego Armando Maradona, who died in 2020, would have been 62 years old. The referee team would have had the opportunity to participate in a mini-homage to the creator of the “Hand of God”. And let it pass.
After just over half an hour, Rani Khedira shot at goal from 20 meters and the ball landed deflected in the net. Referee Harm Osmers pointed to the center circle. But the video referee reported that Sheraldo Becker had touched the ball with his elbow – which was placed on his own body. Technically, the annulment was flawless, as it would have been at the 1986 World Cup when Maradona boxed the ball into the English goal. A few minutes later, Borussia Mönchengladbach took the surprising lead. Following a corner kick from Lars Stindl, Nico Elvedi pushed the ball into the net from six yards.
Until then, the game had been mostly in the hands of the Unioner. They even had more possession than Mönchengladbach. However, there was a lack of chances from the quality of the goal chance that Janik Haberer missed (7th). But: The longer the game lasted, the clearer the chances for the guests became. In the 24th minute Frederik Rönnow had to get a free kick from Alassane Plea out of the corner, after the 1-0 Marcus Thuram almost made it 2-0 for Gladbach. He lobbed a long pass with his heel over Rönnow, who was falling out; Thuram headed the triumphant ball onto the net of the orphaned goal.
The pressure on Unions increased in the second half, also due to the change of coach Urs Fischer. Gladbach, on the other hand, insisted on defending – and was punished. Substitute Kevin Behrens equalised, who headed in a cross from Diogo Leite (79′). Gladbach goalkeeper Tobias Sippel looked terrible, he only hit Behrens’ head with his fist, not the ball. On another cross, Sippel went wide, but this time Behrens put the ball over the goal. Gladbach was now faltering. A header goal by Trimmel (87th), which Sippel missed again, was disallowed. But then Doekhi came – and hit his head.