Looking Around the League: Union Berlin Continue to Struggle

As is often the case in the weeks after Borussia Dortmund have faced Bayern Munich, we are all forced to make a choice between doing our best to forget what happened and not letting anyone forget about what happened. So what better way to find a middle-ground than by looking at everything else that happened in the league over the weekend, with only a subtle nod to the mess that BVB made.

If you wanted to feel a bit better about the outcome of Der Klassiker, take a little look at how RB Leipzig got on against bottom-of-the-table Mainz.

Here are the results from matchday ten:

Results

SV Darmstadt 1-2 VfL Bochum

FC Köln 1-1 Augsburg

Freiburg 3-3 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Hoffenheim 2-3 Leverkusen

Mainz 2-0 RB Leipzig

Union Berlin 0-3 Eintracht Frankfurt

Borussia Dortmund 0-4 Bayern Munich

Wolfsburg 2-2 Werder Bremen

FC Heidenheim 2-0 VfB Stuttgart

League Table

Just How Bad Are Union Berlin?

Union Berlin were incredible last season, qualifying for the Champions League and even looking like title challengers for a little while, but they have had much less fun this year. They have now slipped to 16th following a convincing defeat to Frankfurt at the weekend.

Last season looked like a team that had a great run of form while benefiting from a little luck at the same time. They overperformed their xG throughout the season, and while I think there was probably some parts of their success that xG just wasn’t capturing, it’s usually a sign a team is on a hot (or lucky) streak! This season, however, Union have suffered the reverse. They are massively underperforming xG at both ends of the pitch.

My assumption is that there’s a middle-ground somewhere here. Union were genuinely good last season, but they weren’t quite as good as the league table suggested, and they’ve dropped off a bit for various reasons this season (a lot of new players, a much busier schedule) but they are not nearly as bad as the league table would suggest now.

Union Berlin have suffered some pretty big defeats so far this season, but the good news for them is that they are not that far adrift in the standings. A couple wins would see them climb up the table and things would look much better. They need to start improving soon though!

Your Thoughts?

Do you think last season’s league table is a better reflection of what Union Berlin really are, or do you think we are seeing the real Union this season?