Union Berlin lose their second match in the Europa League. The Eisern actually start well at Sporting Braga, but in the end the Portuguese are cleverer.
On top in the Bundesliga, but threatened with an early exit in Europe: 1. FC Union Berlin has finally made a mess of the start to its premiere season in the Europa League. One week after the 0:1 defeat against the Belgian first division team Union Saint-Gilloise, the team of coach Urs Fischer also lost the second group match at Sporting Braga with 0:1 (0:0).
After an unfortunate deflection by Berlin goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow, Vitinho (77th minute) scored the decisive goal for the Portuguese in front of 17,782 spectators on Thursday. The Bundesliga leaders remain without points in Group D, while Braga took the optimum haul from their first two games with six points.
Good start for Berliners
In front of their 3000 or so travelling fans, the Berliners got off to a good start. The supporters practically sang through the Estádio Municipal with its impressive rock wall, and the team also gave everything on the pitch. Sheraldo Becker almost took the early lead after just under a quarter of an hour, but his dipping shot from an acute angle was blocked by the Portuguese goalkeeper for a corner. The subsequent header by Diogo Leite, who played for Braga last season, hit the far post.
Union was the more active team, but often lacked the final idea. And what came forward, Braga defended cleverly most of the time. The second-placed team in the Portuguese league had started the season strongly with five wins and a draw at home. What distinguishes Sporting: a closed defence and fast counterattacks. Shortly before the break, the hosts almost took the lead. Rönnow saved Banza’s shot in the nick of time with a foot save.
Union too imprecise
Union lacked ideas and accuracy. To be sure, things got off to a decent start again after the change of ends. But Julian Ryerson did not aim accurately enough either, his shot just missed the goal. The game developed in such a way that the level of play decreased more and more. There were fouls and yellow cards, but there was less and less action worth seeing.
The longer the game lasted, the more Union focused on defence. And that did not go well. Braga pressed more and more for the equaliser – and was rewarded. A shot from distance was deflected to the side by Rönnow, but also right to the feet of Vitinho. Vitinho scored the winner for the Portuguese team