…In Hunt For Champions League Spot
Taiwo Awoniyi’s Union Berlin fell to a 3-0 home defeat against second-placed Borussia Dortmund in Sunday’s Bundesliga game.
They missed an opportunity to keep their hold on one of the Champions League slots as they fell to sixth.
With Marco Reus’ first half brace Raphael Guerreiro’s second half tap in, Dortmund, on the other hand, closed the gap on leaders Bayern Munich who lost scandalously a day before, a 4-2 defeat at Bochum.
Nine points separates both sides at the start of the game and Union hoped to ensure they took the win from this sixth meeting of both sides in the Bundesliga. Dortmund had not won at the Stadion an der Alter Försterei the two previous times.
The crowds chanted their songs and waved their red and white scarves when the club’s anthem was sung. They were led from the centre by club mascot Ritter Keule, an ironclad knight who led his fans to the battle.
But it was the visitors who started with the greater intent. Led by Marco Reus, Dortmund showed the better organization in the early stages. And they would go on to score the opening goal with Reus finding himself free inside the box and shooting under goalkeeper Andreas Luthe on 19 minutes.
Union responded immediately as they chased for an equalizer. Bastian Oczipka received a pass from Sheraldo Becker and laid on a cross for Awoniyi, but his header went wide. The fans asked for a better response from their team.
However, minutes later Union would go two goals down when Reus once again pounced on a loose ball, after Oczipka clashed into Donyell Malen, and dribbled past the rushing goalkeeper before slotting into the net. It was only 25 minutes on the clock and the game seemed to be beyond Union.
Frustrated by it all, Awoniyi shoved Axel Witsel off the ball and lounged at Jude Bellingham for which he received a stern warning off from the referee. But the fans were happy to see the fight in him. They wanted to see their team get back in the game, and it was not going to be by being nice.
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