RB Leipzig’s false start to the new Bundesliga season is complete. All football skills are useless against Union Berlin. The iron win the emotional duel for the fourth time in a row. RB coach Tedesco has to provide answers.
1. FC Union Berlin continued its amazing winning streak against RB Leipzig and shot the unloved opponent from Saxony into the crisis with ice-cold counterattacks. With the 2:1 (2:0) win, the Irons, unbeaten for ten games across the season, climbed to second place in the Bundesliga for at least one night. At RB, coach Domenico Tedesco is facing difficult days after the bitter defeat – the fourth in a row in the Bundesliga against Union.
No win and only two points after three matchdays. The coach will certainly have to explain this blatant mishap to the recently critical boss Oliver Mintzlaff. Jordan Siebatcheu (32nd minute) and Sheraldo Becker (38th) punished with their goals in front of 21,056 spectators the footballers superior, but tactically exposed as unimaginative Leipzig, who have to get on track quickly to catch up with the top group of the league – to belongs to the Union – not to be missed. The late Leipzig headed goal by Willi Orban was no longer enough (83rd).
Union versus RB, that was, as always, the duel of the celebrated worker romance in East Berlin, which absolutely does not want to accept the opponent’s football, which is denounced as billionaire-financed. The fans of the iron wanted to be silent for 15 minutes this time to demonstrate against the RB system, which they saw as a construct to be rejected.
Ironically, Timo Werner, identified as a particularly attractive figure, caused the vow of silence to end three minutes early when he fell to the ground in a duel with Christopher Trimmel in the penalty area. No penalty. The wild whistling had hardly stopped when a goal celebration could have raised the noise level, but Mohamed Simakan cleared a shot from Julian Ryerson on the line (15′).
Werner (19th) scored an even closer goal. His lob after a pass from Benjamin Henrichs hit the post. Leipzig had the game under control, possession felt approaching the three-digit percentage mark. And yet RB fell into the Union trap with full force. Tedesco had warned beforehand and compared the compact game of Köpenicker with that of Chelsea and Inter Milan under their ex-coach Antonio Conte. A comparison that also clearly flattered Union coach Urs Fischer.
Siebatcheu completed the first quick Union counterattack after a pass from Becker. Six minutes later, Becker completed the shot from Andras Schäfer. Zack, zack, Union led with two goals and was the leader of the table. Janis Blaswich as Leipzig’s goalkeeper replacement for the ailing Peter Gulacsi could not hold a single ball.
Second half, same game: Union liked to stay deep and let Leipzig turn their semicircles in the middle of their own half. It first became dangerous in front of the RB goal when Siebatcheu (59th) just missed one of the few attacks. On the other side, this time Ryerson saved an attempt by Marcel Halstenberg (68th) on the line.
