Union Berlin Snatches Point from Shocked Bundesliga Leaders Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich handed their competitors a glimmer of hope in the Bundesliga title chase, as they could only manage a 1-1 draw against struggling Union Berlin at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei. This result means that Die Eisernen have successfully evaded defeat in five out of their last six home encounters against teams currently in the top six.

Despite their stunning victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in their last outing, Union took a more cautious approach against a team they had never defeated at home. They successfully limited Bayern’s chances in the first 20 minutes, with only a wayward long-range effort from Dayot Upamecano testing the hosts.

It appeared increasingly unlikely that Union could improve on their record of just two clean sheets in their last 15 games as Michael Olise came close, curling a shot just past the post, and Serge Gnabry fired wildly over the bar.

Goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow was finally called into action just before half-time to make a save from Gnabry, but Union managed to reach the break without facing significant threats.

Harry Kane was also denied from a free-kick shortly after the break, as Steffen Baumgart urged his team to push forward. Their first notable chance arrived just before the hour mark when Josip Juranovic surged down the right side, unleashing a powerful effort towards the near post, only for stand-in keeper Jonas Urbig to deflect it away and prevent Union from taking an unexpected lead.

Concerns began to mount for Vincent Kompany in the away dugout, but the situation eased dramatically with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Olise cleverly spotted Josip Stanisic making a well-timed underlapping run, playing the ball across to Leroy Sane, who nipped in front of Jeong Woo-yeong to slot it into the bottom left corner.

However, Union quickly shifted gears and astonishingly equalised less than 10 minutes later.

Juranovic’s cross seemed destined for the keeper, but Urbig opted to parry the ball, allowing Benedict Hollerbach to pounce and prod it home.

Although Bayern couldn’t regain the lead in the closing stages, they remain provisionally nine points clear of Bayer Leverkusen. That gap may reduce to six if Xabi Alonso’s side secures three points against Stuttgart on Sunday.

While Union missed the chance to achieve consecutive Bundesliga victories for the first time since October, they can take pride in this result, which pushes them further away from the relegation zone.