Football-Union of Berlin’s relegation battle experiment

Union Berlin tries an extraordinary experiment in the preliminary phase of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season: Can the relegation struggle be obtained if you regularly lose your duels against the direct competition in the table cellar (except for one exception at TSG Hoffenheim), but against the Champions League candidate of the league diligently scores?

Under Neu-coach Steffen Baumgart, the Unioners have lost against Heidenheim, St. Pauli and Kiel since the winter break, but got eight points against four of the first five teams in the table. Against Mainz (currently 3rd place) and Eintracht Frankfurt (4th place) there were 2: 1 win, plus a 0-0 against RB Leipzig (5th place) and on Saturday the preliminary masterpiece of this special Köpenicker test arrangement followed-a 1-1 at home against league leaders Bayern Munich.

Actually, after the 0: 6 clap at the weakening BVB on the previous last day and the subsequent bitter 0-1 home defeat against Holstein Kiel, everything was prepared for the great Union crisis. Instead, the Iron Last weekend against Frankfurt turned a break deficit into an away win. Only to put a late goal against the record champion six days later.

Union parks the bus

“We have now clearly shown in the last two games against teams-nobody expected us-clearly that we are still there, that we are awake, that we are far from being pouring out here,” said Union coach Baumgart after the point win against Bayern. Because of a yellow lock, the 53-year-old had to follow the game in the sold-out old forestry in the stands. From there he saw his team defending sacrificingly for 96 minutes.

Instead of with four or five chain, Baumgart defensively acted his team against Bayern with a six to seven chain. Deep in their own half, the Unioners parked the proverbial team bus and hardly left the Munich in the center to develop. Only twice throughout the game, Bayern appeared really dangerously ahead of Frederik Rönnow. But both Serge Gnabry in the first half and Jamal Musiala in the second half failed due to the strong Union keeper.

Hollerbach uses Urbig’s gift

For Union, however, it went even less than for Bayern. And when a quarter of an hour before the end a flat cross from Josip Stanišić past all Unioners to the substitute Leroy Sané, so that he could easily insert it, it looked like the late knockout. But the Berliners bravely pushed forward after the goal and were rewarded for their hard work in the 84th minute. Jonas Urbig, who again represented the injured Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal, pat a deflected flank in the middle of his own goal, where substitute Benedict Hollerbach lurked and got the equalization.

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“Of course, it is particularly special to meet Bayern, especially if it is enough for one point,” the 23-year-old said after the game and also added an explanation why Union, of all things, found the road to success again: “We have concentrated more on our defensive qualities again and that has now been very good for us.”

Hui at the back, Pfui in front

The defense remains the tip of the Iron and this can show that against teams from the upper third of the table that are entitled to get against the Berlin points. Union, on the other hand, remains offensive after the change of coach to Steffen Baumgart too dependent on mistakes in the opponent, especially if you have to play the game yourself. After the Bayern duel, the Union trainer also openly admitted this: “We can assess our work against the ball very well, but also our work with the ball and there is still a lot ahead of us.”

It remains questionable whether the Köpenickers can change a lot on their weak offensive this season. In 26 games, they have only scored more than two goals in the 4-0 away win in Hoffenheim in the early February. Only promoted St. Pauli (20) scored fewer hits than the 23 of the Berliners. It should therefore be more important whether the Baumgart team can also end their relegation battle experiment positively with unexpected successes against stronger opponents.

After the upcoming international break, the first opportunity for the away game against sixth -placed SC Freiburg. Leverkusen and Stuttgart are also still on the schedule. If a similarly strong point of points in these games, like against the other top teams in the league, should not be a problem – although with Heidenheim and the explosive duel in Bochum, two direct relegation duels are also waiting for the Köpenickers.