Union Berlin fall further behind in title race after dropping points to Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg and Union Berlin entertained fans with an intense start to the match, but it didn’t take long for the hosts to establish supremacy following a cautious opening 15 minutes.
Die Wolfe firstly came close to breaking the deadlock when Mattias Svanberg rattled the crossbar with a superb effort from outside the box, but he was in the spotlight again only a few moments later, after finding himself brought down inside the penalty area. However, referee Robert Schroder didn’t call a foul and play resumed.
Union Berlin didn’t look like a side in pursuit of Champions League qualification, and while Sheraldo Becker was their most dangerous threat, his attacking runs were isolated. Meanwhile, Jonas Wind and Omar Marmoush did most of Wolfsburg’s best work at the other end, and the latter had two massive chances just before the break.
The Egypt international painfully missed in a one-on-one duel with the goal gaping, before coming inches away from netting in first-half stoppage time, when an effort inside the box flew wide.
With no Bundesliga pairing producing more second-half shutouts than Wolfsburg and Union combined, there was widespread expectation of a repeat act after half time.
Things didn’t change too much in the opening stages of the second half, but Marmoush came close to breaking the deadlock again, only to be brilliantly denied by Frederik Ronnow, who parried away his close-range header.
The missed chances would eventually come back to haunt Wolfsburg, as referee Schroder awarded a foul from Joshua Guilavogui, and Josip Juranovic coolly converted to give the visitors the lead while scoring his second goal in three appearances.
Die Wolfe knew they couldn’t let this game slip away, and found the equaliser shortly after when Patrick Wimmer placed an out-of-the-box attempt just beyond Ronnow’s reach.
Wolfsburg missed a great chance to gain ground on the race for a top-six berth with this late bloomer of a stalemate, while Union Berlin are now winless in four matches, but it was enough to put the Iron Ones back into the UEFA Champions League spots by virtue of their goal difference.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Frederik Ronnow (Union Berlin)