Steffen Baumgart celebrates his side's win against Mainz. - © IMAGO/nordphoto GmbH / Engler

bundesliga

Back to basics for Union Berlin as Steffen Baumgart gets off the mark

19.01.2025

Union Berlin picked up their first win under Steffen Baumgart as they defeated Mainz 2-1 at the Stadion an der Alten Försterei, and they did so following a change in formation.

Having lost seven Bundesliga games in a row, Union were in desperate need of a result against high-flying Mainz, and that is exactly what they got. The game started perfectly, as Benedict Hollerbach opened the scoring inside the opening 60 seconds.

Nadiem Amiri's penalty meant the scores were level shortly after, but a spot-kick for Union was dispatched by Robert Skov midway through the first half to put them back in front. That proved to be the final goal of the game, allowing Union to celebrate - something which has been rare in recent times.

The Baumgart era has now truly begun in Berlin after back-to-back 2-0 defeats to kick off his tenure, and they prevailed after the new head coach reverted to the formation that has given Union so much joy over the past few seasons. After going with a four-man defence in those two aforementioned losses, a back three was deployed on this occasion.

Robert Skov's penalty restored Union's lead and ultimately won them the points. - IMAGO/Matthias Koch

Diogo Leite, Danilho Doekhi and Leopold Querfeld were all impressive, keeping Mainz relatively quiet throughout the 90 minutes - albeit with the Zerofivers' top goalscorer and captain Jonathan Burkardt unavailable.

Speaking after the match, Baumgart suggested that a system with four at the back could return. "Back three? Back four? It's about principles and what makes football what it is. That was the decisive factor today.

"I like playing with a back four, but that doesn't mean that I'm putting the back three aside. It has to suit the opponent. When we started to deal with Mainz, it was about the back three right from the start, but then it turns into a back four when you start attacking, so something more flexible."

Regardless of the formation, this was a crucial win for Baumgart, and he will hope to see similar endeavour and commitment against St. Pauli next week. A win in Hamburg would allow them to start looking up the table rather than watching over their shoulder.