Leaders Bayern held after late Union Berlin goal
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BERLIN: A moment of uncertainty from goalkeeper Jonas Urbig allowed Benedict Hollerbach to score a late goal as Union Berlin secured a 1-1 home draw on Saturday with Bayern Munich, who still extended their lead atop the Bundesliga standings.
Bayern, chasing a record-extending 34th league title, climbed to 62 points. Champions Bayer Leverkusen are in second place with 53 points but have a game in hand.
Vincent Kompany’s Bayern began on the front foot and set up camp in Union’s half but the hosts were compact in defence and largely limited their opponents to long-range efforts.
Serge Gnabry had Bayern’s best chance of the goalless first half in stoppage time when Michael Olise played him through on goal, but his shot from a tight angle was kept out by goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow.
Bayern kept probing after the interval, with Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane fluffing their lines from promising positions, before substitute Leroy Sane finally broke the deadlock in the 75th minute when he fired in Olise’s cutback.
For all their early dominance, Bayern’s lead lasted just eight minutes.
Union, who had been content to sit back and absorb pressure for much of the match, made a double change as they sought an equaliser and were able to catch Bayern off guard.
Josip Juranovic floated a cross into the penalty area and Urbig, who is deputizing for the injured Manuel Neuer and Daniel Peretz, could manage only a weak punch out which was headed in by former Bayern academy player Hollerbach.
It was a second straight league match without a win for Bayern after their shock 3-2 home loss to VfL Bochum last week.
For Union, who are now winless in their 12 Bundesliga meetings with Bayern, the draw moved them up one place to 13th.
“It was a game of two stories: the performance and the result,” said Kompany. “I’ve been in football long enough to know this wasn’t a bad performance away from home.”
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund’s chances of reaching the Champions League next season look over after a 2-0 loss at RB Leipzig left them in 11th spot.
The hosts took the lead after 18 minutes when Xavi Simons tapped in a rebound after a Leipzig counter.
Lois Openda superbly volleyed home Simons’ floated corner to double the lead just after half-time.
Dortmund laid siege to Leipzig’s penalty area in the second half, hitting the crossbar three times, but could not break through despite a wealth of chances, with striker Serhou Guirassy spurning several good opportunities.
Dortmund will now need a miracle to avoid missing the Champions League for just the second time in the past 15 seasons.
Midfielder Pascal Gross admitted reaching the top four was “unrealistic”.
“Big statements (about turning things around) are always easy, anyone can make them, but on the pitch we failed once again,” he said.
Leipzig’s win took them provisionally fifth with 42 points while Dortmund are seven points behind.
Earlier, unlikely Champions League candidates Mainz and Freiburg drew 2-2. Hosts Mainz, reduced to 10 men when Dominik Kohr saw red after 43 minutes, twice took the lead but Freiburg equalised both times.
The result leaves Mainz third and Freiburg sixth, with neither side having ever played in the Champions League.
Elsewhere, An Alassane Plea hat-trick took Borussia Moenchengladbach to a 4-2 win at Werder Bremen, keeping the visitors on track for a return to European football.
Plea’s first-half brace had Gladbach on track but Bremen scored twice in seven minutes through Romano Schmid and Andre Silva, his first goal for the club, to level things up at half-time.
Plea scored just two minutes into the second half and Germany striker Tim Kleindienst added another to seal the victory.
Augsburg’s impressive 2025 continued with a 1-0 home win over VfL Wolfsburg, with Phillip Tietz scoring the only goal.
Augsburg are now unbeaten in 10 in the league and have conceded just three goals this year, the lowest mark in the top five European leagues.
Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2025
