Union Berlin – Borussia Dortmund: A Bounce Back After Mid-Week Disappointments (0-3)

Union Berlin’s tactical approach forced the visitors into a chaotic game state from the outset. Nevertheless, Borussia Dortmund managed to cope with the lack of control whilst delivering the decisive moments to produce a dominant three-goal win.

Tactical analysis and match report by Fahd Ahmed.

The headlines for the Bundesliga weekend were already determined by Saturday evening as Bayern Munich shockingly lost 2-1 to Augsburg. The reigning champions’ unbeaten league form was bound to suffer from a slip, but many were not expecting it to happen against a side lying in the bottom half of the table.

Despite the loss, there is still a relatively considerable gap to second-placed Borussia Dortmund. However, in football, there is always room for optimism and drama. Thus, the weight of their clash against Union Berlin steepened.

It was also applicable to the home side since Eintracht Frankfurt stumbled again as they lost 3-1 to Hoffenheim earlier in the day. With only three points separating them, Union had a chance to equal points and keep their hopes alive for a late sneak into European qualification.

Steffen Baumgart made two changes to the lineup that he fielded against Stuttgart the prior weekend. Striker Livan Burcu was benched for Woo-Yeong Jeong, who’s more of a pocket player. Furthermore, another attacking midfielder was added in Ilyas Ansah instead of a natural central midfielder, András Schäfer. This indicated a shift from a two-striker in-possession system to a 3-4-3.

Since Niko . . .