Matchday 8 Recap: 1. FC Union Berlin 2 - 0 SC Freiburg
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| Marius Bülter has three league goals so far this season, all coming in Union's two wins. source: Union Berlin |
1. FC Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Parensen, Schlotterbeck, Friedrich; Trimmel, Lenz, Andrich, Gentner (Kroos); Ingvartsen, Andersson (Ujah), Bülter (Mees)
SC Freiburg: Schwolow (Thiede); Lienhart, Koch, Heintz; Günter, Höfler, Abrashi (Petersen), Schmid, Haberer; Waldschmidt, Höler (Grifo)
Union Berlin didn’t take much time to get back to winning ways after the international break, with the first of their two goals coming in literally the first minute of the home match against Freiburg. They didn’t score again until the 84th minute, yet despite the tight scoreline and having the minority share of possession (39%), Union appeared to be in full control of the game throughout. A sharp cry from most of their performances in the top flight so far, with the exception of their already legendary 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund. So, what changed?
In their last game before the international break, away to Wolfsburg, Urs Fischer altered the formation, using five at the back for the first time in his tenure at Union. While I missed the match itself, the fact that Union only lost 1-0 at the team currently sitting second in the Bundesliga table shows that the change went a long way towards shoring up a defense that, while the best in the second division last year, has definitely been feeling some growing pains in the top flight.
Fischer stuck with the same formation for the home game against Freiburg, and as someone who was seeing Union play this way for the first time, I was wholly unprepared for how pleasantly, surprisingly successful the change turned out to be.
With three center backs, the defensive lapses that can result when you play a less possession-focused, more counter-attacking style like Union’s were cleaned up much more efficiently, meaning that Rafal Gikiewicz was troubled far less and as a result managed to keep his first clean sheet of the new campaign.
While he was definitely my MVP for Union last year and a huge part of their successful promotion push, Gikiewicz has seemed much more susceptible to errors as he adjusts to playing top-flight football on a regular basis. However, with a stronger backline in front of him, Gikiewicz was forced into action far less, and when he was, he made some fabulous, confident saves that looked much more like the Gikie we know and love. (There was one nail-biting error in distribution that could have led to a dangerous opportunity for Freiburg, but Marvin Friedrich shut it down with ease.)
Those three center backs? With Neven Subotic out due to muscle tightness and Florian Hübner seemingly dead, Fischer went with Friedrich, Keven Schlotterback (playing against his parent club), and….drumroll, please...Michael Parensen. The Union Berlin legend, who joined the club more than a decade ago when they were in the 3. Liga, was now taking the field for the team in the top flight at the age of 33. And while Parensen is not typically a first-choice center back anymore, it was clear that his experience and calm presence on the backline provided a perfect balance to the more youthful and error-prone Schlotterbeck. Not only that but just having Parensen on the field meant that the atmosphere in the stadium was even more celebratory than usual!
The usual full backs, Christopher Trimmel on the right and Christopher Lenz on the left, had much more license to roam and attack thanks to the extra center back. For Lenz, a fullback who is far more valuable in attack than in defense thanks to his speed and solid crossing ability, this appears to be the ideal situation in which he can thrive. For Trimmel, well, Trimmel is an Austrian Fussballgott who can basically do whatever you tell him to do and do it well. But in all seriousness, adapting to a more attacking role wasn’t difficult for Trimmel, and he still managed to get in a number of spectacular sliding tackles that made me literally cheer out loud in my empty apartment.
In midfield, Robert Andrich and Christian Gentner had, for me, their best games in Union shirts yet. I haven’t been wholly impressed by either of them so far this year, though I admit a lot of that is emotional bias towards Grischa Prömel and Manuel Schmiedebach thanks to last season’s exploits. But against Freiburg, Andrich and Gentner ran themselves into the ground; indeed, when Gentner came off for Felix Kroos in the 78th minute he looked like he could barely walk another step.
When you play the Urs Fischer way, you rely less on your midfield keeping possession and more on their ability to quickly capitalize on the errors of the other team and win the ball back. Andrich and Gentner both excelled at this against Freiburg.
And of course, the forwards. It’s an odd day when you realize that the Union player who may have been the most invisible on the day was Sebastian Andersson, yet with Marius Bülter and Marcus Ingvartsen picking up the slack with a goal each, who can really criticize?
And what goals they were, too. Bülter’s belter (sorry, I had to) from distance in the first minute was an absolutely perfect way to start the game; Union came out swinging, with lots of energy, but the early goal ensured they maintained their confident attitude throughout, even as Freiburg started to come back into the match towards the end of the first half. Ingavrtsen’s goal, albeit much later in the game, was just as lovely, the result of the Danish winger’s own hard work as he dribbled up the field and sent a looping shot straight over the head of the Freiburg keeper.
The subs all did their part to hold the lead in the final minutes of the game, with Kroos bringing a necessary burst of energy in place of the tired Gentner, Ujah adding to the attacking threat as he replaced Andersson, and Mees creating plenty of quality chances during his brief cameo replacing Bulter. The highlight for me personally was the incredible time-wasting at the corner that Andrich and Ujah engaged in towards the end of the match, kicking the ball back and forth until it went out and drawing fouls from the increasingly frustrated Freiburg players to boot.
Overall, it’s safe to say that this was a tactical masterclass from a coach who has proven time and time again that Union Berlin are right to trust in him. The next match is quite possibly the toughest on their schedule, on paper - away to Bayern Munich. But with the champions stalling and Union increasingly confident, who knows what will happen? That’s part of the joy of the Bundesliga.
Lee Jutton is a contributing writer and co-founder of Eisern NYC. She lives on Twitter @leiladaisyj.
In their last game before the international break, away to Wolfsburg, Urs Fischer altered the formation, using five at the back for the first time in his tenure at Union. While I missed the match itself, the fact that Union only lost 1-0 at the team currently sitting second in the Bundesliga table shows that the change went a long way towards shoring up a defense that, while the best in the second division last year, has definitely been feeling some growing pains in the top flight.
Fischer stuck with the same formation for the home game against Freiburg, and as someone who was seeing Union play this way for the first time, I was wholly unprepared for how pleasantly, surprisingly successful the change turned out to be.
With three center backs, the defensive lapses that can result when you play a less possession-focused, more counter-attacking style like Union’s were cleaned up much more efficiently, meaning that Rafal Gikiewicz was troubled far less and as a result managed to keep his first clean sheet of the new campaign.
While he was definitely my MVP for Union last year and a huge part of their successful promotion push, Gikiewicz has seemed much more susceptible to errors as he adjusts to playing top-flight football on a regular basis. However, with a stronger backline in front of him, Gikiewicz was forced into action far less, and when he was, he made some fabulous, confident saves that looked much more like the Gikie we know and love. (There was one nail-biting error in distribution that could have led to a dangerous opportunity for Freiburg, but Marvin Friedrich shut it down with ease.)
Those three center backs? With Neven Subotic out due to muscle tightness and Florian Hübner seemingly dead, Fischer went with Friedrich, Keven Schlotterback (playing against his parent club), and….drumroll, please...Michael Parensen. The Union Berlin legend, who joined the club more than a decade ago when they were in the 3. Liga, was now taking the field for the team in the top flight at the age of 33. And while Parensen is not typically a first-choice center back anymore, it was clear that his experience and calm presence on the backline provided a perfect balance to the more youthful and error-prone Schlotterbeck. Not only that but just having Parensen on the field meant that the atmosphere in the stadium was even more celebratory than usual!
The usual full backs, Christopher Trimmel on the right and Christopher Lenz on the left, had much more license to roam and attack thanks to the extra center back. For Lenz, a fullback who is far more valuable in attack than in defense thanks to his speed and solid crossing ability, this appears to be the ideal situation in which he can thrive. For Trimmel, well, Trimmel is an Austrian Fussballgott who can basically do whatever you tell him to do and do it well. But in all seriousness, adapting to a more attacking role wasn’t difficult for Trimmel, and he still managed to get in a number of spectacular sliding tackles that made me literally cheer out loud in my empty apartment.
In midfield, Robert Andrich and Christian Gentner had, for me, their best games in Union shirts yet. I haven’t been wholly impressed by either of them so far this year, though I admit a lot of that is emotional bias towards Grischa Prömel and Manuel Schmiedebach thanks to last season’s exploits. But against Freiburg, Andrich and Gentner ran themselves into the ground; indeed, when Gentner came off for Felix Kroos in the 78th minute he looked like he could barely walk another step.
When you play the Urs Fischer way, you rely less on your midfield keeping possession and more on their ability to quickly capitalize on the errors of the other team and win the ball back. Andrich and Gentner both excelled at this against Freiburg.
And of course, the forwards. It’s an odd day when you realize that the Union player who may have been the most invisible on the day was Sebastian Andersson, yet with Marius Bülter and Marcus Ingvartsen picking up the slack with a goal each, who can really criticize?
And what goals they were, too. Bülter’s belter (sorry, I had to) from distance in the first minute was an absolutely perfect way to start the game; Union came out swinging, with lots of energy, but the early goal ensured they maintained their confident attitude throughout, even as Freiburg started to come back into the match towards the end of the first half. Ingavrtsen’s goal, albeit much later in the game, was just as lovely, the result of the Danish winger’s own hard work as he dribbled up the field and sent a looping shot straight over the head of the Freiburg keeper.
The subs all did their part to hold the lead in the final minutes of the game, with Kroos bringing a necessary burst of energy in place of the tired Gentner, Ujah adding to the attacking threat as he replaced Andersson, and Mees creating plenty of quality chances during his brief cameo replacing Bulter. The highlight for me personally was the incredible time-wasting at the corner that Andrich and Ujah engaged in towards the end of the match, kicking the ball back and forth until it went out and drawing fouls from the increasingly frustrated Freiburg players to boot.
Overall, it’s safe to say that this was a tactical masterclass from a coach who has proven time and time again that Union Berlin are right to trust in him. The next match is quite possibly the toughest on their schedule, on paper - away to Bayern Munich. But with the champions stalling and Union increasingly confident, who knows what will happen? That’s part of the joy of the Bundesliga.
Lee Jutton is a contributing writer and co-founder of Eisern NYC. She lives on Twitter @leiladaisyj.
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