1. FC Union Berlin battled hard at the Volkswagen Arena on Sunday, but in the end went down by a single goal in the second half to unbeaten VfL Wolfsburg.
Dutch striker Wout Weghorst scored after 69 minutes to break down Union's resolute defence – the only goal of the match ultimately separating the two sides.
Coach Urs Fischer tweaked his shape following last Friday's defeat at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. The Swiss boss turned his defence into a back-three with Keven Schlotterbeck starting alongside Neven Subotic and Marvin Friedrich. Christopher Lenz returned to the fold, while Sheraldo Becker was introduced in attack. Oliver Glasner's Wolfsburg kept the Union defenders busy from the beginning as Rafal Gikiewicz stepped up with a terrific save from Weghorst. Fischer's side enjoyed their best period in the match towards the end of the first half and created some promising attacking situations. Sebastian Andersson broke clear on goal and was hauled down by Jeffrey Bruma, but Bastian Dankert handed out just a caution for the Dutch international. Robert Andrich's free-kick landed an inch-or-two past Pervan's post, while at the other end, Joao Victor should have taken advantage of a great chance in front of goal.
Referee Dankert was in the spotlight in the 53rd minute, whistling for a penalty kick against Marvin Friedrich. Following consultation with the video referee in Köln, Dankert viewed a handball incident on the sideline and ruled that Weghorst was the guilty party. Chrisitian Gentner's header on target after the hour mark threatened Pervan who shuffled across well to his right-hand post to keep the ball clear of the goal. However, the introduction of Josip Brekalo from the bench made a pivotal impact for Wolfsburg, the little Croatian feeding Weghorst in the centre of the box with the Dutch striker making no mistake from close range. Marcus Ingvartsen, Joshua Mees and Anthony Ujah were tasked with changing the scoreline from the bench, which saw Fischer return to a 4-4-2 formation towards the end. Gikiewicz reacted quickly with 10 minutes to claw out a shot from a corner kick from Maxi Arnold, the ball striking the post on the way out. Andrich's engine kept him powering on until the fifth minute of additional time, but his late strike was agonisingly wide of Pervan's goal.
The international break allows Union Berlin to regroup and push themselves again, including against Dynamo Dresden in a friendly at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Thursday. The squad returns to Bundesliga action at home to SC Freiburg on October 19.
Union Berlin aim to break down unbeaten Wolfsburg
Match preview
Urs Fischer’s team will be desperate to overturn a disappointing run of results in the Bundesliga when the Köpenick club heads to Wolfsburg for Sunday’s 15:30 kick-off.
Review: Union fall short at home, Wolfsburg unbeaten under new coach
Second half goals from Bas Dost and Andre Silva put Union to the sword under the Friday night floodlights at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Anthony Ujah scored a late consolation with the visitors in front, his first for the club in the league, but Fischer’s side went down for the third game running in the Bundesliga. There was a further setback for Union when Akaki Gogia went down heavily after the break, suffering a ruptured knee ligament. The winger underwent surgery this week and will begin his rehabilitation soon.
The Wolves decided on a change of management in the summer with Oliver Glasner, the 45-year-old Austrian coach replacing Bruno Labbadia following a successful spell at LASK Linsk. Glasner has brought the best out of his squad at the Volkswagen Arena with the club sitting in seventh and yet to experience defeat. Last weekend’s win in Mainz (1-0) ended a run of three draws, two of them at home against Paderborn and Hoffenheim. In the UEFA Europa League, Wolfsburg picked up a solid point away to French side Saint-Etienne ahead of Sunday’s tussle with Union Berlin.
Record: First competitive match
Union Berlin and VfL Wolfsburg meet for the first time in competitive action on Sunday. The previous meetings all came in bounce matches: a 1-1 draw in Austria across four 30-minute periods was the last encounter. The Köpenick side recorded a 3-1 win in 2016 in a friendly match at the Volkswagen Arena.
Personnel: Gogia & Prömel missing, Lenz back
In addition to Gogia, Fischer confirmed Grischa Prömel was still unavailable for selection. Suleiman Abdullahi will be a late call for the Swiss coach with the striker making good steps in training this week towards a full recovery. Christopher Lenz has successfully come through a week's worth of training and the left-back will prove competition to Ken Reichel, who deputised in the last game against Frankfurt. Sebastian Polter is still suspended following his red card against Bayer Leverkusen.
Service: 3,000 in Wolfsburg
Supporters will be able to get tickets at the Volkswagen Arena for Sunday's game with more than 3,000 Union fans expected to be in attendance.
