Man of the Match Poll: Union Berlin 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

The stadium at the old forester’s house has been a difficult place for opposing teams to play since Union Berlin were promoted to the Bundesliga, something which Borussia Dortmund experienced early lat season, when they were beaten 3-1 by Union.

Today’s game was as tough and closely contested as expected, and Union were probably the better team for much of it. Unfortunately, Union just looked like they wanted it more. BVB were incredibly sloppy in possession, and they didn’t play with the kind of energy needed to beat a decent and well-drilled side like Union Berlin. The Berlin side got the opener in the 57th minute, after Gio Reyna did a poor job of marking Taiwo Awoniyi, but BVB equalized on the hour mark, when Youssoufa Moukoko smashed one home and broke some records in the process. After that goal, Borussia looked much better, but a great (though totally unmarked) header from Marvin Friedrich put Union back in the lead. From that point on, BVB looked completely void of ideas.

If we’re looking for positives, the best moment of the game was, without a doubt, Moukoko’s goal. Not only was it a brilliant finish, hit with a ton of power into the top corner, the unbridled joy he showed when it went in was very heartwarming. For anyone that missed it:

Overall it was a pretty poor performance, and it was the kind of performance we became accustomed to under Favre. Union Berlin are a tough side, especially facing them in Berlin, but the nature of the loss was particularly alarming. BVB were sloppy in possession, lacked discipline and concentration in defense, and just seemed like they weren’t engaged in the game. The nominations for man of the match were pretty slim pickings, which means that at least one name made it in on the grounds that I don’t remember them making any big mistakes... That should tell you all you need to know about Borussia’s performance today. Let us know who you thought deserved the man of the match, and if you think someone else should have been nominated.