1. FC Union Berlin suffered a 1-3 defeat to Augsburg on the first game of the new Bundesliga season at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei
Marius Bülter pulled Urs Fischer's team all square with 15 minutes left following Ruben Vargas' first-half opener for Augsburg. But the visitors capitalised on late opportunities to take all three points with goals from Michael Gregoritsch and substitute Andre Hahn.
Union’s team for the opening game of the league campaign featured three new faces from the dramatic German Cup win in Karlsruhe, a week ago. Cedric Teuchert dropped to the bench and in came Sheraldo Becker to join the attack. Robert Andrich replaced Nico Schlotterbeck, while Christopher Lenz was favoured instead of Niko Gießelmann. The opposition ranks this afternoon featured a familiar face: promotion-winning goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz who signed for Heiko Herrlich’s side this summer. The popular Polish goalie was given a warm reception during the warm-ups from the 4,500-or-so supporters inside the ground.
Normal matchdays would see 22,012 at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei but in accordance with the legal measures in Berlin, a capacity of 5,000 was permitted for the season opener. The crowd made it a boisterous start to the game and it encouraged the players to be more proactive in attack. After 18 minutes, Christopher Trimmel picked out Marcus Ingvartsen but the Danish U21 international shot wide of the target. In fine form during pre-season with a double against 1. FC Nürnberg, Ingvartsen was handed a difficult job as the central striker following the departure this week of top goalscorer Sebastian Andersson to Bundesliga rivals 1. FC Köln. The experienced Christian Gentner took a Knick after 25 minutes and was replaced in a straight swap by Sebastian Griesbeck. Hard work and team spirit epitomised the first-half performance without Union able to put Gikiewicz under pressure. With five minutes left of the half, Augsburg landed a lucky punch with Ruben Vargas sneaking in behind to score past Andreas Luthe.
Bülter started the half on a positive note and was a few inches off target with a long-range shot. Max Kruse and Cedric Teuchert were introduced to stimulate the attacking play and within a few minutes, Fischer's side kicked into life. Christopher Lenz hit the byline and delivered a teasing cross into the area and Bülter swept the ball past Gikiewicz. From there, Union enjoyed their best and most incisive period of play in the 90. Lenz forced a good save out of the former Union goalkeeper before he came shortly to Augsburg's rescue. At the other end, Gregoritsch got between the Union defenders and headed the visitors into the lead with eight minutes to go. Union responded but Gikiewicz's quick reactions kept out a header from Robert Andrich. Niko Gießelmann and Joshua Mees were tasked with a final push forward but a defensive mistake allowed Andre Hahn the time to slot past Luthe and put the contest beyond doubt.
After the first weekend of action in the Bundesliga, Fischer's squad will return to training this week and will prepare for next weekend's away match at Borussia Mönchengladbach,
Union meet Augsburg on Week 1
Match preview
1. FC Union Berlin's second season in Germany's top division will get underway on Saturday at the traditional kick-off time of 15:30 when Augsburg head to the capital.
Urs Fischer's side scored their first-ever Bundesliga goal in Augsburg in the second game of last season and have prepared for the curtain raiser with a successful passage to Round 2 of the German Cup.
Fischer: "In the end, we finished the job. It was a hard game against Karlsruhe. When I look at every other Cup match, many teams encountered problems. It's the first game, so it takes time to know where you stand. In the end, what counts is that we won."
Review
With last Saturday's German Cup clash in Karlsruhe heading the way of penalties, the 500-strong home crowd was left stunned when central defender Nico Schlotterbeck acrobatically hooked in the winning goal after 117 minutes of play. The on-loan Freiburg man popped up at the death to put the Köpenick club into the second round draw, which will take place on Sunday October 18.
Opposition
Meanwhile, Heiko Herrlich's team romped to a 7-0 drubbing of lower-league Eintracht Celle. Ruben Vargas and new signing Daniel Caligiuri put Augsburg two up within 30 minutes before the club's all-time record goalscorer Alfred Finnbogason scored a third from the penalty spot. Florian Niederlechner and Andre Hahn got on the scoresheet and Fredrik Jensen bagged a double in the last couple of minutes to secure the Bundesliga club a place in Round 2.
FC Augsburg held tightly to a five-point cushion above Werder Bremen in the Relegation Play-Off position to complete a full decade in Germany's top division. There have been notable moves during the summer transfer window at the WWK Arena — particularly the arrival of former Union number one Rafal Gikiewicz. Felix Udoukhai turned a loan move into a permanent one and vast experience was added to the squad in the shape of Caligiuri and Tobias Strobl. Highly-rated full-back Robert Gumny also completed his switch from Lech Poznan to the Bundesliga outfit. Heading through the exit door after lots of speculation, left-back Philipp Max made a surprise move to PSV Eindhoven. With Gikiewicz arriving, Andreas Luthe headed out — signing for 1. FC Union Berlin to improve his first-team football opportunities.
Personnel
Fischer confirmed at the pre-match press conference that Keita Endo and Anthony Ujah are struggling for fitness. Endo took part in training on Thursday and is making progress in his return from injury. "The rest of the squad took part," added the Swiss coach.
Service
The first Bundesliga game will be live on Sky Sports in Germany, ESPN in the United States and on BT Sport in the United Kingdom. Matches are continuing with restricted numbers and 5,000 maximum will be permitted inside the Stadion An der Alten Försterei in accordance with the infection protection measures in the capital.
