A last-minute strike from Stuttgart's Wabil Faghir denied 1. FC Union Berlin three points from Sunday's game at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Urs Fischer's team led through Taiwo Awoniyi's first-half strike and looked set to bring the win back to the capital after a taxing week in European competition.
But substitute Faghir shot from the edge of the area in the 93rd minute to give the home side a share of the spoils.
Union put Rotterdam to the back of their minds and lined up against Stuttgart, the team who the Köpenick club defeated in the promotion play-offs to reach the Bundesliga in 2019. Urs Fischer rotated his side following European action – Tymoteusz Puchacz, Kevin Möhwald, Max Kruse dropped out, while Genki Haraguchi, Sheraldo Becker and Niko Gießelmann were reinstated to the line up. The threat of Awoniyi was clear in the opening minutes, the former Liverpool man heading wide of the post after four minutes. While Stuttgart saw enough of the ball around the middle third of the field, Union were disciplined and focused in defence. As the game went past a quarter of an hour, Union created the first clear opening with Becker key to the move. The Dutchman glided past his marker on the left-hand side, drilling right across the box but Christopher Trimmel's late sprint into the box didn't lead the opener. The goal came on 31 minutes as Union Berlin pieced together and finished a great counter. Rani Khedira broke up the play in midfield – a foul which frustrated the home supporters. Becker led the charge, cutting back to the edge of the box for Awoniyi to fire in his seventh Bundesliga goal of the campaign. Pellegrino Matarazzo's side reacted with a good period of play, but Union held on to the lead. Endo fired at Andreas Luthe on 33 minutes before Marc-Oliver Kempf headed wide from a corner kick a minute later. Last week, Haraguchi's run and pass led to the decisive opening goal at home to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga – and the Japanese midfielder almost made it two in two. The experienced midfielder dribbled clear of the white shirts, feeding in Union's top goalscorer but Awoniyi poked wide with eight minutes to play in the half.
Union came back out without any changes and immediately asserted themselves on the game. A lovely bit of play between Robin Knoche, Grischa Prömel and Genki Haraguchi nearly led to a second on 53 minutes but Bredlow saved. Four minutes later, the hopes of the home side went up in smoke in a matter of 33 seconds. Midfielder Atakan Karazor was shown his first yellow card for a cheap foul on Rani Khedira. As soon as referee Florian Badstübner whistled to resume play, Karazor came crashing in and earned his second booking. With a player extra, the control was established without peppering the goal of Bredlow enough for the second goal. Khedira limped off with injury and Levin Öztunali was handed the shirt for the final half an hour or so. The 26-year-old Stuttgart goalkeeper parried a dipping shot clear from Becker who came close to scoring with his last action. Fischer switched the front two around with Kevin Behrens and Andreas Voglsammer getting the nod. However, Union wouldn't be able to tie up the victory as Matarazzo's side threw caution to the wind late on. Faghir headed over with a minute of normal left but his second attempt from the edge of the area took a wicked touch and beat Luthe in the third and final minute of stoppage time.
Despite having to settle for one point instead of three, 1. FC Union Berlin will have little time to ponder over the result. Fischer's side compete in the DFB Pokal on Wednesday at SV Waldhof Mannheim before hosting Bayern Munich at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Saturday in the Bundesliga.
Union head south to VfB Stuttgart
Match preview
1. FC Union Berlin will be looking to fight back from defeat in Rotterdam when they face VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Sunday October 24 at 17:30.
Review - The last match:
Union went down on MD3 of the Europa Conference League 3-1 at Feyenoord. Despite Taiwo Awoniyi pulling one back towards the end of the first half, the Dutch side were in a two-goal lead through Alireza Jakhanbahksh and Bryan Linssen. Luis Sinisterra added a third to leave Union bottom of Group E after three matches in the competition. A week ago, Union extended the unbeaten home run in the Bundesliga to 21 matches with a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg. Urs Fischer's men were fortunate to go into the interval at 0-0 after Lukebakio hit the post from a few yards out. But Union battled back into the game, showing character and determination to get the points. Awoniyi scored his sixth Bundesliga goal of the campaign on 48 minutes before Sheraldo Becker came off the bench to make another impact and score the second of the afternoon.
VfB Stuttgart – Opposition Report:
In their second season back up in the Bundesliga, VfB Stuttgart are finding their feet early in the campaign. Pellegrino Matarazzo's side play expansive and attacking football with 13 goals scored in eight matches – one more than Union. The Swabians are unbeaten in three with some strong results, including a 3-1 win at home to Hoffenheim on October 2. Last week, Stuttgart picked up a point at Borussia Mönchengladbach with Konstantinos Mavropanos opening the scoring. The Greek defender scored in the victory over Hoffenheim with Omar Marmoush playing a key role in the side from a creative perspective.
VfB Stuttgart – The coach's view:
"Stuttgart have a great and young squad. They have a good mix of robustness and a team that also looks to play. Especially the wide players are very fast and always try to go one on one," said Urs Fischer at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
Personnel
After his positive test last week, Marvin Friedrich is still in quarantine. Similarly, Rick van Drongelen is recovering in isolation following a positive result. Urs Fischer has the rest of his squad to pick from on Sunday.
Service
For the match at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, 600 away tickets have been sold. There is no opportunity to purchase tickets at short notice.
Stuttgart are operating on a 2G basis, meaning supporters will need to provide proof of full vaccination or recovery from Coronavirus.
