1. FC Union Berlin's men's side lost 4-0 to Olympique Lyon on Saturday evening despite a first half performance that saw Yorbe Vertessen hit the bar ending goalless. But the guests were clinical in the 2^nd half, and scored through Ainsley-Maitland Niles, Said Benrahma, and a brace from Gift Orban

1. FC Union Berlin: Rönnow (46. Schwolow) – Juranović (46. Haberer), Querfeld (46. Jaeckel), Vogt (46. Doekhi), Leite (46. Ogbemduia), Gosens (46. Preu) – Král (46. Kemlein), Schäfer (46. Tousart), Vertessen (46. Bénes) – Skarke (46. Hollerbach), Siebatcheu (46. Prtajin) 
 
Olympique Lyon: Perri – Mata, Caleta-Car (75. Andryeison), Niakhaté (80. Sarr), Abner (66. Kumbedi) – Caqueret, Matic (66. Diawara), Mangala (46.  Tolisso) – Maitland-Niles (75. Balde), Mikautadze (46. Orban), Benrahma (80. Molebe) 

The starting XI

Bo Svensson started his second home game – the official season’s opener - at the Alte Försterei with Frederik Rönnow returning between the posts, behind a back three of Diogo Leite, Kevin Vogt and the new signing, Leopold Querfeld. They were flanked by wing-backs Josip Juranović on the right and Robin Gosens on the left. Alex Král replaced the sick Rani Khedira in midfield alongside Andras Schäfer, allowing Yorbe Vertessen and Tim Skarke to dovetail behind Jordan Siebatcheu up top.

Attendance: 12.317 

Goals: 0-1 Maitland-Niles (49.), 0-2 Benrahma (65.), 0-3 Orban (75.), 0-4 Orban (85.) 

Juranović comes close, then almost turns provider

Sometimes you just have one of those days, and this was one for the players of 1. FC Union Berlin. In front of a loved-up crowd on a historic double-header of a gameday. They were by far the better side, if luckless, in the first half, but the heat and the opponents proved too much in the second.

It would do little to read too much into a loss such as this, after all, especially as it all began so differently. Robin Gosens started as if he had a point to prove, nipping into a challenge on Maxence Caqueret early, taking down Leopold Querfeld’s whipped Crossfield ball with athletic grace, before putting Clinton Mata into the advertising hoardings, all within the first couple of minutes of a game that otherwise started as placidly as the referee was before kick-off. He had come onto the pitch without the most important thing of all, the ball.

Schäfer too looked keen, perhaps buoyed by the riotous cheers that greeted his introduction before the game. The Hungarian has established himself as a crowd favourite here at the Alte Försterei over the last couple of years, and his second, snapping tackle on Mata, showed exactly why. It was sharp, well timed, and had enough bite in it to make his presence more than a little felt.

But then they all looked at it, at least before the game lulled and sagged a little in the middle, largely due to the heat down on the pitch. Král stepped up after 9 minutes, playing a simple ball through to Jordan that required Duje Caleta-Car to be on his toes to stop the reinvigorated centre-forward. Vertessen drove a shot from outside the box at Lucas Perri in Lyon’s goal soon after.

Chances, however, were few and far between for both sides, despite Union’s bustle and Lyon’s occasional slickness of passing. Georges Mikautadze was picked out by Ainsley Maitland-Niles with a sumptuous ball, but he dawdled too long before looping a shot over Frederik Rönnow’s goal. Maitland-Niles then flicked a header straight at Union’s stopper when, with maybe half a second more time, he could have done better. Vertessen and Siebatcheu took turns in dropping back deeper, meanwhile, adding support to the midfield.

Union’s first big chance came on 20 minutes when Jordan was brought down by Caleta-Car after a jinking Vertessen run. Juranović took the free kick - a couple of inches outside the box, just to the left of the D - hitting the ball wickedly through the wall, but straight down Perri’s throat. The keeper still did well to parry it over the bar, though. It was hit with such menace.

The next came, too, from the right boot of the Croatian, but this time as he hit a perfect, deep cross from the touchline, 40 yards out, into the box where Vertessen rose and flicked a header that he deserved more from, other than just seeing it crashing back off the bar.

Maitland-Niles and Mikautadze linked up again, the former Arsenal player’s cross rolling agonisingly across the line, while the Georgian smashed one straight at Rönnow, himself,if at pace. But by the end of the half the game had largely slowed down to a crawl.

There were changes to come.

Maitland-Niles opens the scoring, Benrahma and Orban add to it.

Svensson changed his entire team at half time, with Alex Schwolow behind Paul Jaeckel, Danilho Doekhi and Oluwaseun Ogbemudia at the back, David Preu and Janik Haberer the left and right wing-backs. Aljoscha Kemlein and Lucas Tousart made up a midfield behind Benedict Hollerbach and Ivan Prtajin, with László Bénes joining them, free to roam the space in between.

Preu charged forwards, continuing his fine form, but it was Lyon who took the lead, as Abner burst down the left and hit a fine ball to the back post where Maitland-Niles had slipped into a gap. He finished first time, giving Schwolow no chance. Shortly after Prtajin had hammered a shot over from the edge of the box, Benrahma shot over from Maitland-Niles’ run and cross from the inside right.

Preu lifted the ball over Caqueret’s head neatly, but he hasn’t been the only youngster making an impression though. Ogbemudia is a centre-back of rare class and huge potential, and he showed it, along with his cool head, when he covered the right-hand flank with an ease belying his age.

Benes dragged a shot wide with his left after almost an hour as Union dusted themselves off; Prtajin showed one of many lovely touches when he set Haberer off down the right to win a corner just afterwards.

But it was for little, as Benrahma received a switched ball in space just inside the box. He brought it down, moved it onto his right and finished past Schwolow, bending it artfully inside the back post. With 20 minutes to play, substitute Sael Kumbedi, hit a lovely shot that Schwolow did excellently to tip over the bar, diving to his right.

Still Union came back at them – Hollerbach never stopped, a whirling, roaring devil in yellow, whenever he had the scent of the ball - but Perri was equal to Preu’s challenging cross, having been set up by Prtajin’s strength with his back to goal and Hollerbach’s drive, just as he held Benes’ flatter one shortly after.

After the final whistle, Svensson said that his side “weren’t aggressive enough as a team, and left too many gaps,” the consequences of which were shown up in the last ten minutes.

This time he hit the ball long, straight out of his hands, where Gift Orban was loitering, and all he had to do was stroke the ball past Schwolow. It was 3-0 and would become four before full time, as Perri hit another ball the length of the pitch, this time as far as Mama Balde, who took a touch on before rolling the ball across for Orban to get his second.

Prtajin flashed a volley over on the turn, but by this point the shadows had lengthened across the pitch and the sun was slipping slowly towards the west. The fans, however - many of whom had been in the stadium all day long from the women’s game at lunchtime - carried on as if it was kick off.

As Dickens almost wrote, it had been the best - and the not so best - of times.