Leaguers once again have a lot to celebrate this season.Picture: www.imago-images.de
Last season, Union Berlin avoided relegation at the last moment. Now, the Steelers are back at the top of the standings and are once again convincing with their incredible home field strength this season.
This is the 34th game of the 2023/24 Bundesliga season. Union Berlin must win their last game against Freiburg to avoid relegation. Overtime has entered, and the score is only 1:1. In the 92nd minute, the Union team received a penalty kick. Kevin Warland was on the verge of staying in the league but his penalty hit the post. Fortunately from Berlin's perspective, the ball found its way to Jannik Haberel, who converted the follow-up shot into the goal to ensure the Irons stayed in the league.
Remaining in the league was celebrated with great enthusiasm.Image: trapezoid
The tough season is over
Despite a very turbulent and difficult season, the 2019 newcomer has remained in the top flight. Since promotion, the league has never been ranked lower than 11th and has qualified for the European competition three times in a row. In order to qualify for the 2023 Champions League, the team, then coached by Swiss Urs Fischer, invested more money than ever before and also signed Leonardo Bonucci and Robin Gosens. Waiting for the name.
The newly formed team never really got off the ground. After two wins at the start of the season, Union were unable to win 15 consecutive games in all competitions and long-time successful coach Urs Fischer resigned from his post at Union Berlin.
Union Berlin fans dance to thank Urs Fischer.Image: trapezoid
Alte Försterei becomes a fortress again
After staying in the desperate situation of staying in the league, Berlin has returned to its roots, with this year's transfer fee only a third lower than last year. Now it seems that this path is correct again. The Kpenik team is currently ranked fourth and is suddenly back among the strong teams.
There have been a total of 8 games in the Bundesliga this season and only one defeat. exist In the 0-1 victory over Monchengladbach, Union conceded a decisive goal in stoppage time. Just a week later, they recorded a stunning victory at home against Borussia Dortmund. Speaking of home games, the Union side have won three of their four home games this season and drawn one. The Alte Försterei fortress appears to be fully operational again.
The An der Alten Försterei Stadium is the league's bastion this year.Picture: www.imago-images.de
New coach Bo Svensson has been on the sidelines for Union Berlin since the start of the season. The Dane is at Mainz 05 until November 2023, having taken over in the summer and has been quite successful. After a difficult year, Svensson once again provides the team with the security it needs and feels very comfortable in Berlin, as he said in an interview:
“I've come to a club that I can identify with.”
Defense returns to stability
As in previous successful years, the biggest strength so far this season has been the defense. The Unionmen have conceded just five goals in eight Championship games so far. This is the second-highest value in the entire league, behind only RB Leipzig. Kopenic are the only team to concede more than one goal in Bundesliga games.
United games are not exactly attractive to spectators, at least if you believe expected goals statistics. No other team in the league is expected to score as few goals as Union Berlin. Their expected goals against (8.2) is second in the league and second only to Bayern Munich in expected goals against.
X account triggers discussion
The TUC's social media arm has caused a stir in recent weeks. In the last championship game against Eintracht Frankfurt, the Union team experienced a period of strong pressure while trailing, so the Union team issued the following post:
We currently have more money invested in Frankfurt than the people of Bahnhofsviertel, reward yourself!
— 1. Union Berlin (@fcunion) October 27, 2024
During the match against RB Leipzig, one post caused a stir for many users of the platform. Berlin took a point from Leipzig thanks to a strong defensive performance. At the time, the Unionist posted: “The defense is more stable than any Saxon bridge.”
This is an allusion to the Corolla Bridge which collapsed a few days ago. The article was removed after intense criticism.
Wednesday suffered a heavy defeat in the DFB-Pokal against third-division side Arminia Bielefeld. Union Berlin continues this Saturday in Munich at 3:30 pm. The league will face the Bundesliga's current leader and record champion Bayern Munich.
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Bayern Munich It is the record-breaking championship of the German team: in 2023, the championship trophy was awarded to Croesus of the League for the 33rd time, and Bayern won the championship for the eleventh consecutive time.
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