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Friedrich heads Köpenick club to three points

Union beat Borussia Dortmund:

Fri, 18. December 2020
Friedrich heads Köpenick club to three points

Marvin Friedrich scored for the second game in a row to secure a fantastic three points against Borussia Dortmund at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.

The defender headed in from a set-piece on 78 minutes to decide the game after another excellent display from Urs Fischer's team. The Köpenick club opened the scoring from a corner kick after 58 minutes when Grischa Prömel flicked on a corner from Christopher Trimmel, the ball finding its way through to Taiwo Awoniyi for an easy finish.

Youssoufa Moukoko became the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history with a remarkable strike, two minutes later. But Union's never-say-die attitude shone through and Friedrich headed in Cedric Teuchert's corner with 12 minutes to go to bag the last three points of the calendar year in Germany's top flight.

1. FC Union Berlin: Luthe; Trimmel (Ryerson 72), Friedrich, Knoche, Lenz; Prömel, Griesbeck, Teuchert (Gießelmann 85); Becker, Bülter (Endo 66), Awoniyi (Gogia 85)

Borussia Dortmund: Bürki; Meunier (Morey 80), Akanji (Schulz 85), Hummels, Guerreiro; Witsel, Can (Bellingham 80); Sancho, Reyna, Reus (Brandt 72); Moukoko

The fitness issues remained for coach Fischer in regards to his selection, but Union were able to bring back Marius Bülter to the starting XI. A week ago, the Köpenick club roared out of the traps when German champions Bayern Munich were the visitors to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. That high-tempo and aggression was on show against Borussia Dortmund, but the opening goal evaded Union. Awoniyi ran in behind to stretch the Dortmund defence, the Nigerian continued in on goal but Roman Bürki closed the angle and kept the score blank. The Swiss goalkeeper didn't need to make outstanding saves to keep the ball out but the Dortmund number one was pro-active and well-positioned to sniff out dangerous moments. On 17 minutes, Bürki blocked as Awoniyi was played in by Bülter after good pressing forced the visitors into a defensive error. Sheraldo Becker increased the pressure on Bürki's goal but the Dutch winger blazed over from about 20 yards out. Borussia Dortmund's first major attack in the final minute of the first half almost led the opening goal through the 16-year-old striker Moukoko. The teenager peeled away from the Union central defence and rattled the crossbar with a powerful shot from a tight angle.

Union returned for the final 45 minutes of 2020 in the Bundesliga with an unchanged side. While Dortmund put together more sequences of passes, it was Union who carried the threat. A two-on-two counterattack with Awoniyi and Teuchert almost the led the opener, but the on-loan Schalke attacking-midfielder was unable to thread in Becker who joined the attack later. On 58 minutes, Fischer's team celebrated the opening goal with a well-worked corner kick, taken by skipper Christopher Trimmel. The Austrian international whipped to the near-post, Grischa Prömel flicked towards the back-post and Awoniyi was there to prod in his first home goal for Union. If Awoniyi was sharp at one end of the pitch, Dortmund's precocious youngster Moukoko was equally dangerous. The striker pulled into the channel two minutes later and beat Luthe with an unstoppable shot to write his name into the record books. Keita Endo replaced Bülter on the wing and Julian Ryerson took Trimmel's place at full-back to give Union sets of fresh legs. It's been a taxing final week of the 2020 action for Union with Bayern Munich last Saturday, a midweek game in Stuttgart and 48 hours later, the Dortmund battle. Union's spirit and courage was on show as the team threw everything at Dortmund to make their lives difficult without the ball. On 78 minutes, there were scenes of jubilation on the Union bench as Friedrich headed home from a corner kick. With Trimmel off the field, Teuchert stepped up to take responsibility from the set-play and picked out the vice-captain with a terrific cross and Friedrich powered in his fourth of the season. As the legs tired, it was all hands on deck and Fischer called upon Niko Gießelmann and Akaki Gogia for the final five minutes. What Union were expecting like the last two matches was the proverbial kitchen sink onslaught from Edin Terzic's team, but it wasn't forthcoming and Andreas Luthe's goal remained untested in the final minutes of the match.

 

After Union's stunning Bundesliga finale for 2020, the Köpenick club will continue their 2020-21 DFB Pokal campaign at home on Tuesday night, December 22, against Steffen Baumgart's Paderborn.