bundesliga

Cedric Teuchert's late goal earns Union Berlin victory over Bayer Leverkusen

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Cedric Teuchert's last-gasp goal earned Union Berlin all three points against Bayer Leverkusen in an entertaining encounter, filled with chances at both ends, on Friday night.

Union Berlin 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Goal: 1-0 
Teuchert (88')

In a meeting of the two clubs with the most goals scored inside the first 15 minutes of their games this season, with a combined 15, it was hardly surprising to see both teams on the front foot, with Nadiem Amiri volleying over a good opportunity for the guests, who were the more endeavouring. Union's first chance came just after the opening quarter of an hour, and it was a gilt-edged opportunity for Marvin Friedrich, who somehow managed to head Christopher Trimmel's teasing corner against the post with the goal at his mercy. Union coach Urs Fischer was then forced into an early change with Sheraldo Becker leaving the field injured and Teuchert replacing him, although the forward did not see much of the ball as Leverkusen increased the pressure, but failed to make it count before the interval.

When Teuchert did get a sniff of goal early in the second half, he could hardly have gone any closer to opening the scoring as his shot struck the inside of the right-hand post and rolled practically parallel to the goalline, shaving the left-hand post as it went wide. Teuchert missed the target by a larger margin with Union's next chance before Robert Andrich brought a save out of his own goalkeeper Andreas Luthe moments before teeing up Trimmel for a dangerous shot on goal at the other end, as the chances continued to multiply at both ends. Just when it looked like the game was heading for a stalemate, however, Union got another break and Teuchert was not going to waste this one, as his shot beat Lukas Hradecky to earn Union all three points, taking them temporarily up to a dizzying fourth in the standings.

Match stats

  • Teuchert has scored all three of his Bundesliga goals this season from the bench. Only Hertha Berlin's Krzysztof Piatek has scored more as a substitute.
  • Union are on the second-longest unbeaten run of their Bundesliga history (six) and have lost just twice in their 16 league games so far this season.
  • This was the capital club's 50th Bundesliga game. Their record reads 19 wins, 12 draws, 19 defeats - claiming 69 points in total.
  • Leverkusen claimed their first win of 2021 in their midweek DFB Cup second round win over Frankfurt, although Bayer are on a four-match winless run in the Bundesliga.
  • This is the first time since 2004 that Die Werkself have failed to win any of their first three fixtures of a calendar year.

Watch: Teuchert: "Thank god it went in!"

Line-ups

Union: Luthe - Friedrich, Knoche, Hübner - Trimmel (c), Andrich, Prömel, Lenz - Ingvartsen - Becker (Teuchert 24', Ryerson 90'), Awoniyi (Bülter 76')
Unused subs: Karius, Schlotterbeck, Gießelmann, Gogia, Griesbeck, Endo
Out: Gentner (calf), Kruse (thigh), Pohjanpalo (ankle), Ujah (knee)
Coach: Urs Fischer

Leverkusen: Hradecky - Dragovic, Tah, Tapsoba, Sinkgraven - Amiri, Baumgartlinger (c) (Aranguiz 69'), Demirbay - Bailey, Schick (Alario 70'), Diaby
Unused subs: Grill, Lomb, L. Bender, Jedvaj, Wendell
Out: Arias (ankle), Bellarabi (hand), S. Bender (knee), Fosu-Mensah (not included), Palacios (back), Paulinho (knee), Weiser (thigh), Wirtz (knee)
Coach: Peter Bosz