1. FC Union Berlin lost their final game of 2024, 4-1 away at SV Werder Bremen. Despite Andras Schäfer pulling a goal back after Marco Grüll’s, early double, Jens Stage completed the host’s win in the 87^th minute.

1. FC Union Berlin: Schwolow - Trimmel (46. Juranović), Doekhi, Querfeld, Leite, Rothe - Schäfer (71. Tousart), Khedira (71. Kemlein) – Skov (46. Skarke), Hollerbach, Vertessen (79. Prtajin) 

SV Werder Bremen: Zetterer - Stark (90.+2 Malatini), Friedl, Jung (89. Veljkovic) - Weiser, Lynen (90.+2 Alvero), Köhn (88. Deman) - Stage, Schmid - Grüll (73. Burke), Ducksch 

The starting XI

Bo Svensson made four changes to the side that started last weekend’s draw against Bochum, starting at the very back where Alexander Schwolow replaced the injured Frederik Rönnow in goal. He was behind a back three of Diogo Leite, Danilho Doekhi (who had moved into the centre) and Leopold Querfeld, in for the suspended Kevin Vogt.

While Tom Rothe was station out on the left, Christopher Trimmel came in on the right for his 150^th Bundesliga start, either side of Rani Khedira and Andras Schäfer.

That left Robert Skov to shift forwards to the right-hand side of the attacking three, alongside Benedict Hollerbach in the middle, and, in for Tim Skarke and making his first start in a month, Yorbe Vertessen.

Attendance:  42.100 

Goals: 1:0 Grüll (13.), 2:0 Grüll (17.), 2:1 Schäfer (23.), 3:1 Weiser (45.), 4:1 Stage (87.) 

Grüll scores twice, Haberer pulls one back, but Weiser makes it three for the hosts

In front of an away end, transformed by the almost 4,000 Union fans into a sea of red and white flags at kick off, this was the kind of game where the first two tackles set the tone for a roaring first half of football, even if it wasn’t one that would go down in Bo Svensson’s happier memories of his time at Union. The first came from Anthony Jung on Andras Schäfer, before Diogo Leite made a better one on Marco Grüll; it was impeccably timed, and he had followed him to the other side a moment later to rob him again, this time staying on his feet.

Clearly, neither side were here to sit back. Sadly for Union, however, Bremen would run out clear winners. It was tough, but Rani Khedira remained clear after the final whistle.

“A losing streak like this isn't great, of course, but in the end it doesn't matter how many games you lose as long as we use the time well, stay hungry and work through things” he said.

Alexander Schwolow, making only his second ever start for Union was in action early on, too, racing out to claim Derrick Köhn’s deep, in-swinging cross from the left. It was a huge sign, for few jobs are harder in football than that of the replacement keeper. He had waited 11 months for his chance, but today was just not be his, nor any of his team-mates’ day.

He could have been forgiven for thinking it might be, though, as he had the woodwork to thank that he hadn’t conceded shortly afterwards.  Marvin Ducksch, who had been involved for almost half of Bremen’s goals so far this season, ran an onto a long ball after only seven minutes following Leite’s header backwards, across goal. He took a touch and set himself to volley, but just as it seemed he had beaten Schwolow, his shot cracked off the top of the bar and away.

 It had been a big let-off for Union, and they knew it, but the hosts wouldn’t miss their next as a superb ball came in form the right-hand side to Marco Grüll, who rose in the box all too easily to power a header back across Schwolow.

Union were suddenly chasing shadows, and it was 2-0 eight minutes later when Derrick Köhn, who had already been seeing a lot of space out on the left, took a deflected ball in his stride and laid it off for Grüll to hammer home.

Union countered, and Trimmel clipped a free kick into the box that fell eventually to Yorbe Vertessen, himself chipping it back into the danger area where Leopold Querfeld threw his long limbs at the ping-ponging ball in the box, but Bremen cleared it away towards the halfway line.

Within ten more minutes, however, Union were back in the game. Rothe advanced inside left, hitting a superb swinging ball towards the back post where Andras Schäfer cracked his volley past Michael Zetterer and into the roof of the net. It was a vicious finish, you could almost hear it fizzing off his boot, and was his first of the season.  

The game swung one way and then the next, it was a thrilling spectacle for the neutral, though there didn’t look to be too many of them here. Bremen came back, and Roman Schmid was an inch away when he drove past the post following more good work from Ducksch in the middle this time, before Vertessen cut inside, found Trimmel, whose pass ended up winning a corner via the boot of the now flying Schäfer.

Union piled on the pressure as their diminutive strikers started to dovetail with one another. Vertessen’s shot cannoned out for a corner after Benedict Hollerbach had tricked his way past one and found his teammate with a clever little pass inside. The Belgian then repaid the favour, but the Bremen box was now full of green shirts, impassable.

They came together again after 33 minutes when Vertessen was sent away, putting the ball through Jung’s legs, before the Bremen defender somehow made it back to make a now necessary tackle as Vertessen seemed ready to shoot. Later, Hollerbach would hit a vicious swerving cross across the Bremen box that skidded off the turf, that Vertessen couldn’t quite reach, despite his lunge following his brilliantly timed run from the edge of the box.

The rain started to pour down, it was fine but heavy, blustering in the wind, lit up by the four towering, iconic floodlights of the Weserstadion, as both sides attacked each other. Zetterer had to claw Skov’s wicked corner from under his own bar before setting Grüll away with the huge clearance out of his hands. Schäfer, always the last man back at corners managed to chase the ball down just in time.

It was a passage of play that took up about 20 seconds, but was one that somehow summed up the half, and the chaos wouldn’t be halted as Köhn again played a sharp one-two before crossing left footed for Mitchell Weiser to poke home.

It was 3-1 for Bremen.

Captain, Trimmel, didn’t shy away from his disappointment after the final whistle. “Of course, we are disappointed and we also have to look at ourselves, because we didn't defend well when the goals were scored. We want to and have to do better.”

That wasn’t it, and as five minutes added time were played out, Schwolow made a wonderful stop from Schmid, flinging himself to his left, clawing the ball away with a single hand and around his left hand post before the whistle finally brought the first 45 minutes to an end.

Union push up, but Stage finishes things off with three minutes to go.  

Svensson changed twice at the break, bringing on Josip Juranović and Tim Skarke for Skov and Trimmel, but immediately it was the hosts who were on the front foot, only for Doekhi to get back in time to tackle Ducksch as he hared onto another through ball.

Juranović made the next big tackle, this time stopping Schmid in his tracks with only a minute of the half played.

But again, Union came back, as Skarke turned back on himself and laid the ball off for Hollerbach, whose low shot from the edge of the box rolled just wide of the back post. It was the finest of margins. Skarke won a corner off the boot of Niklas Stark soon afterwards, though the set-piece would take a while coming, due to the smoke now pouring out of the away end. It resulted ultimately, only in Zetterer rising to claim Juranović’s corner, though play would stop again straight afterwards.

Zetterer would then have to react smartly to clear Schmid’s short-ish backpass, ahead of the onrushing Skarke, his eyes flashing at the sudden opportunity ahead, as Union were stepping up with little to lose. Doekhi won the ball in midfield, feeding Hollerbach who won another corner, but Bremen were trying to exploit any gaps that were left, and Ducksch volleyed wide when Köhn again found him, cross-field, on the edge of the box.

The action continued at both ends. Schäfer found Juranović with a delightful, pass, hit with the outside of his boot that was only just flicked away before it dropped for the Croatian; Skarke flashed a drive from distance just over the bar.

With 20 minutes to play Svensson swapped out his central midfield pairing of Khedira and Schäfer, bringing on Aljoscha Kemlein and Lucas Tousart, making his own first appearance for Union since the win over St. Pauli back in August.

Union kept on pushing, and Querfeld saw his shot from well outside the box tipped wide as half of the players inside of it suddenly seemed frozen to the spot, wondering if Hollerbach was to be awarded a penalty.

Then with 77 minutes on the clock Svensson made his final throw of the dice, bringing on Ivan Prtajin for Vertessen, but little was falling for his players, and Hollerbach roared into the now darkened skies as he was robbed by Stark, having tried to turn past him, only to be thwarted by the defender’s instinctive flick of the boot. Stark would stop him again with six minutes to play, this time at full stretch, sliding along the sodden turf.

Though there were to be eight minutes added on, it was to matter little as Bremen made it 4-1 through Jens Stage in the 85^th minute. It came as Bremen attacked down the right through Weiser. He pulled the ball back with his cross to Schmid, and though it took a heavy touch along the way, it dropped all too invitingly for the Dane, and he just had to bundle the ball over the line.

Khedira had the final word, keeping an eye on the challenges to come once 2025 has begun in earnest.

“We want to start the new year with clear minds and can take an example from our fans, who are always tireless in their support and we definitely want to repay that with successful football.”