1. FC Union Berlin fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga.
The first of three VAR interventions of the opening 45 minutes, Davy Klaassen's penalty was confirmed by referee Tobias Welz and the Dutch captain after five minutes. Union were given a lifeline after Welz awarded a penalty for handball following VAR consultation and Sebastian Andersson made it three goals in three games.
Rafal Gikiewicz kept his side level with a penalty save in the second half but Niklas Füllkrug headed in the winner on 55 minutes from the resulting corner.
A tussle in stoppage time saw second yellow cards for Nuri Sahin and Neven Subotic as the match ended 10 men apiece.
Christian Gentner’s return to the Union midfield was the single change to the side, which ran out 3-1 winners against Borussia Dortmund, a fortnight ago. Florian Kohlfeldt’s squad has been decimated in recent days and weeks through injury, but the Werder coach was able to hand a debut to new signing Leo Bittencourt. Werder Bremen stepped into the ascendency after two minutes when Davy Klaassen hit the deck after a clash inside the penalty box. Following a near three-minute wait, referee Tobias Welz confirmed his decision and the Werder captain struck into the net. The interruption halted the flow to the match, but Union received a VAR present themselves when a penalty was awarded for handball in the 14th minute. Andersson stepped up and sent Jiri Pavlenka the wrong way to level the scores. Despite the VAR intervention midway through the half, Welz resisted pressure from the Bremen players to punish Neven Subotic after the ball struck his hand in the box. From open play, clear opportunities were fairly limited for both teams, although the visitors dominated the ball for longer periods. With three minutes before the break, Anthony Ujah ran clear of Marco Friedl but his volleyed effort on goal was a metre off target.
The same 22 players returned for the second period at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Marvin Friedrich’s header on 48 minutes came from a set-play move, but the defender’s effort lacked the requisite power to threaten. On 54 minutes, The referee awarded Werder their second penalty after Christopher Trimmel tugged back Gebre Selassie just a few yards away from goal. However, Gikiewicz held his nerve to protect the scoreline and keep out Klaassen’s penalty kick. Werder took full advantage from the resulting corner kick with Füllkrug heading past the Union goalkeeper from the near post. Sebastian Polter and Akaki Gogia were used from the bench as Fischer’s men looked to pile on the pressure in the final quarter of an hour. Pavlenka’s handling was strong from a few dangerous crosses into the penalty box, whilst Andersson missed a good chance in the final minutes after a cross from Gogia. An action-packed encounter ended on a spicy note with a tackle from Subotic on Claudio Pizarro resulting in a second yellow for the Union defender. In the follow-up tussle, Nuri Sahin was shown his marching orders for a second caution. Despite playing the ball into the box often enough during the six minutes of additional time, Werder Bremen saw the game out and held on to their lead.
Union return to the road next week with Fischer's team heading to the BayArena to take on Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday September 21 at 15:30.
Union Berlin clash with Werder Bremen at home
Match preview
Domestic league football returns following the short international break with 1. FC Union Berlin looking to pick up from the win against Borussia Dortmund at home to Werder Bremen on Saturday.
Review: Sensational first Bundesliga win, Bremen beat Augsburg
Union secured their first-ever win in the Bundesliga in some style. The Stadion An der Alten Försterei in Berlin was packed to the rafters and those inside witnessed a spectacular performance from Fischer’s team. Marius Bülter struck a double to put Union in the driving seat, with the three points rounded off by Sebastian Andersson’s second goal in successive games — the Swedish striker was rewarded for a fine start with another call-up for his national team last week.
The club with the most points assumed in Bundesliga history, Werder Bremen themselves have got off the mark this season. A brace from Japanese striker Yuya Osako and a strike from American Josh Sargent fired Florian Kohlfeldt’s team to their first three points of the campaign at home to FC Augsburg. Werder suffered defeats in their two previous outings: a 3-1 loss at home to Fortuna Düsseldorf before a narrow defeat at Hoffenheim.
Record: First league meeting
Saturday’s match is the first league encounter between Union Berlin and Werder Bremen. The teams met previously in the first round of the DFB Pokal in 2009, but the northern Germans ran out comfortable 5-0 winners at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. In Germany’s third division, Union did come up against Werder’s reserve team during the promotion campaign of 2008/09. With only two defeats in Köpenick in the last 27 games, Union will be looking to maximise the excellent home record in recent months.
Personnel: Four Union absentees
Keven Schlotterbeck sits out the second of his two game suspension on Saturday. But there’s injury news from the coach with Florian Hübner, Grischa Prömel and Marcus Ingvartsen unavailable due to respective fitness problems. Prömel suffered a setback in training and the club continues to monitor his condition on a “day-to-day” basis.
Fischer knows the danger of getting too far ahead of ourselves following the Dortmund win. "After the game against Dortmund, the guys took the win well. Expressed the right sort of opinions from what I saw anyway. Like I said, we are away from our targets, we keep developing and learning. I’m not worried [about getting ahead]."
Service: Another home sell-out
This week, fans picked up their tickets for Saturday’s 15:30 kick-off in Köpenick. The match is a full sell out and there will be no tickets available on general sale on the day of the match.
Given the limited parking options on site, the club also encourages supporters to travel with public transport on Saturday or with bicycle.
