Wolfsburg offers few reasons to think about Madrid. The local VfL arena doesn’t have much in common with the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu; VfL itself has nothing to do with the Spanish record champions Real. In this respect, it would normally be forbidden to speak of a dress rehearsal for 1. FC Union Berlin – but the timing dictates it. On Wednesday, the Köpenick footballers will make their Champions League debut at Real Madrid at 6.45 p.m., and they will perhaps have forgotten that they are making their debut in the premier class after two Bundesliga defeats in a row.
VfL Wolfsburg inflicted their second defeat of the season – after the 3-0 loss against RB Leipzig – on 1. FC Union in a strange game in many respects. Because the Berliners pushed forward from the start of the game and – contrary to the usual Union cliché – monopolized the ball. But just when the question arose as to whether Wolfsburg even wanted to develop any ambitions to slow down their opponents, VfL scored in the 12th minute to 1-0. Union center forward Kevin Behrens missed a back pass, inviting Jonas Wind to do a one-two with the Croatian creative spirit in midfield, Lovro Majer.
17:8 shots on goal, only one goal for Union
1. FC Union needed a few minutes to organize their thoughts, then national player Robin Gosens (28th) scored the equalizer with a header after a beautiful cross from Aïssa Laïdouni. Just two minutes later, Wolfsburg took the lead again, this time through a powerful volley from Joakim Maehle from the edge of the penalty area after a corner that was poorly punched out of the six-yard box by goalkeeper Rönnow.
The fact that this 2-1 was the final score was mainly due to the fact that the rest of the game was characterized by Wolfsburg’s self-sacrificing defensive work. Apart from a shot on the post by substitute Tiago Tomás, VfL almost completely withdrew from the offensive.
And the Unioners? After the game, they had to “take care of themselves,” as coach Urs Fischer put it afterwards: “When you have so many options, you have to be more efficient.” The statistics summary of the game showed, among other things, 17:8 shots on goal. In the second half, the most important striker from last season came into focus: Sheraldo Becker failed twice in a promising position. However, there are extenuating circumstances for him as he still lacks match practice after an injury break.
This also continues to apply to one of Unioner’s most eye-catching additions, the Italian Leonardo Bonucci. As was the case against Leipzig, he was only allowed to warm up, but he didn’t play for a second. The 2021 European champion was eliminated in Turin and was not allowed to take part in the preparation for the season; he only came to Berlin long after the season had begun. It is rather questionable whether he will be allowed to be in the starting line-up in Madrid of all places. On the other hand, he is one of the few players in the Union squad who not only knows the sound of the Champions League anthem from television, but has heard it with their own ears in large stadiums.
The same applies to former Hertha player Lucas Tousart, who once played in the premier class with Olympique Lyon and now celebrated his Union debut on Saturday. Or for left-back Robin Gosens, who even reached this year’s Champions League final with Inter Milan. He also has hours in which he has to influence his colleagues: “Two things are very important: Firstly, that you don’t forget to enjoy the game. These are unique experiences, playing on a stage like this at the Bernabeu. Not everyone is allowed to do that,” said Gosens. And on the other hand? On Wednesday in Madrid there were only “90 minutes of football in which the small opponent can sometimes hurt the big opponent,” he says: “There are numerous examples of this in football.”