In the Bundesliga at the top, in Europe there is a risk of an early end: 1. FC Union Berlin has finally messed up the start of its premiere season in the Europa League. A week after the 0-1 defeat against the Belgian first division club Union Saint-Gilloise, coach Urs Fischer’s team also lost the second group game at Sporting Braga 0-1 (0-0).
After an unfortunate defensive action by Berlin goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow, Vitinho (77th minute) scored the decisive goal for the Portuguese in front of 17,782 spectators on Thursday. The Bundesliga leaders remain without points in Group D, while Braga got the optimal result from the first two games with six points.
The Berliners got off to a good start in front of around 3,000 fans who had traveled with them. The supporters practically sang through the Estádio Municipal with its impressive rock face, and the team gave their all on the pitch. Sheraldo Becker almost scored the early lead after just under 15 minutes, but the Portuguese goalkeeper saved his lob from a tight angle to take a corner. The subsequent header from Diogo Leite, who played for Braga last season, went to the outer post.
Union was the more active team, but the last idea was often missing. And what came forward, Braga usually fended off cleverly. The second in the Portuguese league had a strong start to the domestic season with five wins and one draw. What distinguishes Sporting: a closed defense and fast counterattacks. The hosts almost took the lead just before the break. Rönnow cleared against Banza in dire need with a foot defense.
Union lacked ideas and accuracy. Things got off to a good start after the change of sides. But Julian Ryerson didn’t aim accurately enough either, his shot just missed the goal. This is how a game developed, the level of play of which decreased more and more. There were fouls and yellow cards, but there were fewer and fewer actions worth seeing.
The longer the game lasted, the more Union focused on the defensive. And that didn’t go well. Braga pushed more and more for the equalizer – and was rewarded. Rönnow blocked a long-range shot to the side, but also right in front of Vitinho’s feet. He scored the winning goal for the ripped off Portuguese.
