After coming from behind to win 2-1 at Bremen on Wednesday, Union Berlin cut Bayern Munich’s lead at the top of the table to three points.
Union Berlin cut Bayern Munich’s lead at the top of the table to three points. After 13 minutes, Werder scored through Amos Pieper, but the defender turned villain just four minutes later when his poor back pass found Kevin Behrens, who fed Janik Haberer for the equalizer.
Minutes later, Union thought they had the lead, but Sheraldo Becker’s goal was disallowed due to a handball by Behrens in the buildup.
Union took a significant lead in the pursuit of their first-ever Champions League berth in the first minute of the second half thanks to a goal from a corner that Behrens headed in unmarked.
Before Saturday’s city derby against Hertha Berlin, Union manager Urs Fischer praised his team, describing their performance as “masterful and clever football.”
“That’s exceptional, 33 points halfway through the season. We need to get ready once more because the derby is on Sunday.
Union took advantage of Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt’s 1-1 draw, who had a chance to tie the Berliners for second place with a win.
Randal Kolo Muani, a France striker for Frankfurt, scored just before halftime to give his team a 1-0 lead. Matthias Ginter, a local kid from Freiburg, scored an equalizer for the home team two minutes later.
Additionally, on Wednesday night, Bayer Leverkusen defeated Bochum at home to win their fifth consecutive Bundesliga game ahead of Sunday’s pivotal matchup with Dortmund.
Edmond Tapsoba’s penalty kick in the eighth minute gave Leverkusen the lead right away. The home team took all three points thanks to a second-half goal by Czech striker Adam Hlozek.
Which was set up by teenage midfielder Florian Wirtz, who was making his comeback from an ACL tear.
With a narrow 1-0 victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach, Augsburg moved out of the playoff spots for relegation.
American striker Gio Reyna saved Dortmund earlier on Wednesday when he scored a last-gasp goal in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-1 victory over Mainz to secure the three points deep into injury time. Haller saved Dortmund.
Reyna, a US international who is 20 years old, also scored the fourth goal in Dortmund’s 4-3 victory over Augsburg on Sunday at home.
On Wednesday, he scored a header with one minute left in extra time to defeat persistent Mainz.
Dortmund lacked offensive fluency and frequently turned the ball over on the counter, and they were without the suspended Jude Bellingham.
Dortmund got off to the worst possible start when Lee Jae-Sung gave Mainz the lead in the second minute, despite manager Edin Terzic’s promise to fix the team’s weak defense on Tuesday.
The home team took an early lead when Jae-Sung headed in an Edimilson Fernandes corner after leaping past winter arrival Julian Ryerson.
Ryerson, who was only in his second Dortmund game, quickly made up for his mistake by scoring from long-range with a deflected shot two minutes later.
Both teams reduced their intensity for the remainder of the first half after a blistering start.
After 61 minutes, Terzic made a triple substitution, adding striker Sebastien Haller and wingers Reyna and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who both scored from the bench against Augsburg.
Ten minutes into the game, Haller was alone on goal near the penalty spot with a pass from Bynoe-Gittens and had the crowd on its feet. However, he was too slow and the ball was taken by Mainz goalie Finn Dahmen.
Reyna capitalized on Haller’s assist as the game appeared to be heading for a draw, sending the ball past Dahmen and into the back of the net.
Julian Brandt, a Dortmund midfielder, praised his team’s “emotional victory,” while Terzic countered Terzic’s glee with a reality check.
“We are the lucky winners with almost every action of the game, but that could have gone in any direction.
As his team moves up to fifth place in the league from sixth, he added, “There is still a lot of work waiting for us.”
Bo Svensson, the Danish manager of Mainz, said, “there are many positive things we can take away” from Dortmund’s “bitter” late winner. His team is only four points ahead of the relegation spots.