1. FC Union and SC Freiburg met in the top game of the Bundesliga at the start of matchday 10. Both teams struggled on offense. The guests missed the deserved victory.
Frederik Rönnow left the pitch without batting an eye. You couldn’t tell that the goalkeeper was able to save 1. FC Union Berlin another point as the match winner with a saved penalty. Thanks to the Dane, the Berliners remained unbeaten in their home stadium An der Alten Försterei and drew 0-0 against SC Freiburg at the start of the 10th matchday of the Bundesliga. Rönnow had already saved a penalty from Loïs Openda at RB Leipzig and secured a draw for the Berliners.
In front of 22,012 spectators, Vincenzo Grifo failed with his penalty in the 22nd minute. “It’s bitter, it’s annoying because you could have scored three points here. We couldn’t do that,” said the 31-year-old on the streaming service DAZN. “One point is better than none, but I’ll still be a little annoyed in bed.”
Both clubs have now been without a win in three league games. Under new coach Bo Svensson, Union still has 16 points and seventh place after a messed up preseason, but can still slip at the weekend. The Iron Men are still undefeated at home.
Freiburg kept Berlin behind them in the top third of the table with the draw. The guests from Breisgau still have to wait for their first league win in Köpenick, but they jumped up to fourth place in the table for at least one night. The sports club scored 17 points from ten games under Julian Schuster, who succeeded iconic coach Christian Streich in the summer.
Khedira’s pluck leads to a penalty
At Union, Svensson had to do without his left winger Tom Rothe for a short time due to muscular problems. Robert Skov made his first starting appearance in the league. The fast Yorbe Vertessen started on offense instead of Jordan. Schuster sent the same team onto the field as in the 0-0 draw against Mainz.
From the start, both teams tried to disrupt their opponents early in the build-up game, even after losing the ball themselves. Wooyeong Jeong shot too centrally from the edge of the penalty area in the fourth minute. For Freiburg, captain Christian Günter missed after a one-two with Grifo from a tight angle (11th).
When Union’s Rani Khedira prevented Eren Dinkci from finishing in the best shooting position with a plucker, referee Tobias Reichel initially decided on a free kick, but, according to the video images, corrected himself to a penalty. As against Leipzig, Rönnow was able to save the penalty. Günter’s follow-up shot went just wide.
Shortly afterwards, Junior Adamu had the next good chance to take Freiburg’s lead, but shot just wide from close range (34′). Defender Diogo Leite missed Berlin’s best opportunity after a corner when he didn’t hit the ball properly while it was standing free.
In the second half the home team pressed for victory. Overall, both teams lacked the final consequence in the end. Shortly after the break, Berlin’s Christopher Trimmel tested Freiburg’s goalkeeper Noah Atubolu with a long-range shot (50′). The SC keeper directed attempts from Yorbe Vertessen and Janik Haberer over the crossbar (58th/90th +3).
But the SC also appeared offensive. Günter’s shot was no problem for Rönnow (62′) and defender Philipp Lienhart headed over the goal (87′).
lwö/dpa
