1. FC Union Berlin's strong second-half performance was not enough to stop Borussia Dortmund leaving Köpenick with all three points.
Marco Reus scored a double before the first 45 minutes were out to put Borussia Dortmund in the driving seat at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
But Urs Fischer's side showed their never-say-die attitude again, creating a hatful of chances after the restart. Kevin Möhwald's header was ruled out after a VAR check, while Raphael Guerreiro made it three at the other end.
1. FC Union Berlin: Luthe; Trimmel (Ryerson 76), Oczipka, Baumgartl, Knoche, Jaeckel; Prömel, Öztunali (Möhwald 61), Michel (Ujah 71); Becker (Schäfer 76), Awoniyi (Behrens 61)
Urs Fischer handed a home debut to Sven Michel who completed his transfer from Paderborn on deadline day in January. Against second-placed Borussia Dortmund, the Köpenick club needed all the chips to fall in order. With 10,000 at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei behind the team, there was every chance of a positive result. Sheraldo Becker ran in behind the away defence but shot wide on four minutes.While Union have remained unbeaten in two encounters with Borussia Dortmund at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, Dortmund have enjoyed success on their home turf. In the last meeting, Raphael Guerreiro opened the scoring with a spectacular effort from distance. The Dortmund left-back speculatively tried his luck on 14 minutes but this time his precision was missing. Marco Rose’s did find the net after 18 minutes when a quick passing attack saw Marco Reus spin clear of the red shirts and fire past Andreas Luthe. The Köpenick club almost responded but Taiwo Awoniyi headed over. It was Reus who once again landed the killer finish, breaking clear of the Union defenders and making it a second for Borussia Dortmund on 27 minutes. With just one defeat in 2022, Union have returned to the winter break strongly in spite of outgoing transfers. Bastian Oczipka stepped in for Niko Gießelmann and his deflected cross tested the Dortmund backline on 28 minutes. Debutant Michel broke the Dortmund resolve with a brilliant lay-off, but Gregor Kobel was out in no time to stop Oczipka from giving Union a goal before the break.
The home side came out of the dressing room and put up another strong fight. Oczipka’s set-piece landed in the danger area but Prömel couldn’t direct a header on target at the start of the half. Becker was consistently a threat on the break, and he fired a shot off a yellow shirt to win a corner. From the resulting set play, Becker picked up the second ball but fired wide of the goal. With a purpose and physical threat, Union looked more likely to peg Dortmund back than Rose’s side were to a third goal. Michel fired over from the edge of the six-yard-box when presented with a cute lay-off from Oczipka. The Union number 10 was switched for Anthony Ujah with 20 minutes of the game to play. Union had the ball in the net after 74 minutes when Christopher Trimmel perfectly picked out Kevin Möhwald for the midfielder to head past Kobel. However, Dr. Matthias Jöllenbeck consulted with the monitor and decided there was an infringement. Hungarian Andras Schäfer was given his first game time in the Bundesliga as a substitute on 76 minutes when he took the place of Becker. Julian Ryerson joined him to give the captain Trimmel a bit of a rest for the last quarter of an hour. Möhwald tried his luck from range on 81 minutes but Kobel made a good save down to his right. Ryerson made an immediate impact in attack, cutting back for Ujah on 85 minutes but the finish was blazed over Kobel’s crossbar. The Norwegian delivered another fine cross a minute later and Behrens headed wide this time. On another day, Union might have converted opportunities at the right time and given themselves a fighting chance of points. But Dortmund leave Köpenick for the first time in the Bundesliga with all three points.
Union face Borussia Dortmund test
Match preview
1. FC Union Berlin will aim to get back to winning form when Borussia Dortmund make the trip to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Sunday afternoon at 15:30 CET.
Review — The last match:
1. FC Union Berlin suffered the first defeat of the new year, going down 0-2 at FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga last Saturday. Markus Weinzierl's team prolonged Union's winless trips to the VVK-Arena in Augsburg since the Köpenick club were promoted to the Bundesliga. Union were captains of their own downfall, going behind after 16 minutes when a mistake was punished by Michael Gregoritsch. It was largely one-way traffic for Augsburg with Christopher Trimmel forced to clear off the line on 26 minutes. Helped by the return of top scorer Taiwo Awoniyi after the African Cup of Nations, Union came back into the game but the Nigerian couldn't take his opportunities. Niko Gießelmann headed over as Union put on more pressure but Rafal Gikiewicz kept his former club at bay. Andre Hahn scored a long-range piledriver after the interval to put the game beyond doubt. Urs Fischer handed a debut to Sven Michel for the last half an hour following his arrival from Paderborn.
Dortmund — Opposition Report:
Borussia Dortmund are Bayern Munich's major competitor for the league championship, occupying second place in the table. However, Marco Rose's side are nine points behind the German champions and can't afford further slip ups. Dortmund rely heavily on Erling Haaland to put the ball in the net on a consistent level. In 14 games in the Bundesliga, the Norwegian has fired 16 times and created another six goals. Dortmund have the second-best attack in the Bundesliga with 54 goals in 21 games. Defensively, Rose has had to deal with some issues as Dortmund trail only Greuther Fürth, VfB Stuttgart, Hertha and Borussia Mönchengladbach in goals conceded.
Dortmund — The coach's view:
1. FC Union Berlin head coach Urs Fischer said: "Borussia Dortmund are of course exceptional in playing with the ball and always finds solutions in tight spaces. In addition, they always come up with the pace in behind. This team consists of difference makers who can all decide a game. We simply need a perfect game."
Personnel:
Rani Khedira is suspended. Keita Endo has an illness but has tested negative with PCR. Urs Fischer confirmed the Japanese winger would train on Saturday, if healthy. Four players are unavailable due to positive test results: Jakob Busk, Niko Gießelmann, Andreas Voglsammer and Dominique Heintz.
Service:
All the relevant stadium information can be found here.
Control bands are available to collect for fans with 2G Plus status.
The game takes place under 2G Plus rules and it is compulsory to wear a FFP-2 mask at all times. This mask can only be removed for the consumption of food and drink.
