Football | The question marks at Union Berlin are getting bigger and bigger

Union striker Emmanuel Latte Lath (l.) didn't have an easy time against Timo Becker and Schalke's defense. Photo: Julius Frick/dpa 25 years ago, 1. FC Union Berlin and Schalke 04 met in the DFB Cup final. In May 2001, the then third division club Union lost honorably to the then runner-up Schalke 0-2 in the Berlin Olympic Stadium.

On Friday evening there was a similar outcome in the Bundesliga game at the An der Alten Försterei stadium. The guests from the Ruhr region won 3-1, although Union had sold significantly better a quarter of a century ago.

Schalke coach Miron Muslić and his players ran towards the visitors' block in a frenzy of celebration after the final whistle. After the 0:3 at the start at FC Augsburg and the remarkable 0:0 at home against FC Bayern Munich, there were not only the first goals of this season, but also the first three-pointer in the upper house after three years in the 2nd Bundesliga.

The Royal Blues last won in the Bundesliga on May 5, 2023 with a 3-2 win at 1. FSV Mainz 05. »We are very happy and satisfied. It was the first Bundesliga win in a long time. This feels fantastic. I think we had a top structure on the pitch, especially in the first half,” said Muslić.

Even before the break there was a lot more possible for Schalke than the 1-0 lead by ex-Union player Robin Gosens in the 25th minute of the game. Immediately after the restart, Adil Aouchiche took advantage of another drowsiness in the Union defense to make it 2-0, which had also conceded a goal the previous week in the disastrous 4-0 loss at Bayer Leverkusen shortly after the break.

Schalke also survived the last desperate phase of pressure from the Union team after Tim Skarke's goal, who was able to reduce the score to 1-2 in the sixth minute of stoppage time in his 100th Bundesliga game. When Maximilian Wöber scored the all-important 3-1 in the 13th minute of added time, there was no stopping the Royal Blues.

Even Robin Gosens cheered loudly after holding back his opening goal. »I was actually emotional after the goal. That's a bit of what football does to you. I have a lot of respect for Union, for the fans and for the time I had here. On the other hand, it was my first Bundesliga goal for Schalke, for my club," said Gosens.

In the end, Schalke deservedly survived the eternal stoppage time, which was mainly due to referee Timo Gerach's calf injury in the second half. Despite treatment, Gerach had to be replaced by Bundesliga debutant Jarno Wienefeld, who had started as the fourth official.

In the first Union home game of this season against Eintracht Frankfurt (3:3), a referee was injured. On August 29th, assistant René Rode was unable to continue due to thigh problems.

When it comes to sports, the question marks are getting bigger and bigger. They also scored at least three goals in the third league game. »We have a new game system. Of course we still have to find ourselves, but we need points,” said full-back Tom Rothe.

Union President Dirk Zingler and managing director Horst Heldt want to give the new head coach Mauro Lustrinelli time to make tactical changes such as switching from a three-man to a four-man defense chain and to make the Union game no longer so easy to predict.

But with the current squad that doesn't seem to be working (yet). Although three new signings were in the starting line-up against Schalke: defender Felix Uduokhai, midfielder Michel Aebischer and attacker Emmanuel Latte Lath. But they too were hardly able to provide any impetus. And the new signing Kastriot Imeri from Young Boys Bern, who was brought in for creative moments, just sat in the stands, injured. »We made too many mistakes without pressure. At the moment we need a lot of effort to score a goal," said Lustrinelli.

The question remains whether the team has enough quality to implement the playful approach of their Swiss coach - especially since two attackers, Andrej Ilić and Oliver Burke, have been injured for a long time and Ilyas Ansah was sold to Hull City for over 20 million euros on the last day of the summer transfer window.

This is also why Lustrinelli decided to only set up one striker, Latte Lath. The 4-2-3-1 formation didn't work at all. This also applies to the constant changing of the central defender pair. Zeno van den Bosch and Leopold Querfeld started against Frankfurt. In Leverkusen it started with van den Bosch and the unconvincing debutant Uduokhai. Against Schalke, Lustrinelli relied on Querfeld and Uduokhai. It's not really possible to import it. Also because the experienced Marvin Friedrich is currently injured. 

After the poor preparation results, Union is still in the discovery phase in competitive games. "We're doing open-heart surgery," manager Heldt said in the days before the Schalke game.

Next Friday, the path of the “patient” Union leads, of all places, to the league club Bayern Munich. »You need an outstanding day in all positions. “It’s even more difficult in Munich than at home,” said defender Rothe. In the current constitution, the Union is threatened with a debacle.

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