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FCU Union Berlin Union Berlin - B04 Leverkusen Bayer Leverkusen

R. Khedira
28'

An der Alten Försterei(Sold out)

Harm Osmers

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63 %Rani Khedira

Rani Khedira

0:15

Watch: Khedira happy with defensive display

Full-time: Union Berlin 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen

In a game of few chances, Union take all three points. Their combative, hard-working performance has given them a deserved win here, with Leverkusen struggling to find their attacking rhythm today. Schick came close with a couple of late headers, but the Werkself didn't do enough to come away from the capital with any points.

© IMAGO/Michael Taeger

Full-time

90'

+ 5

Holding out

Union continue to stand firm against a wave of Leverkusen attacks.

90'

+ 3

Yellow card

Frederik Rønnow

0:21

Great chance!

Schick climbs highest to get on the end of a Maza cross from inside the area, but can only guide his header onto the roof of the net from close range.

90'

+ 2

Seven added minutes!

Leverkusen have been given a lifeline as they look to rescue a point here.

90'

Time running out

As we enter the 90th minute, the visitors are still searching for an equaliser.

90'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

1.

Christian Michel Kofane34.51km/h

2.

Stanley Pierre Nsoki34.09km/h

3.

Wooyeong Jeong32.38km/h

88'

Yellow card

87'

Late changes

Union bring on fresh legs as they look to see out their lead.

86'

Substitution

85'

Substitution

András Schäfer

83'

Yellow card

83'

Chaos in the box

Union break and find themselves in the Bayer box. The balls falls the way of Schäfer, whose effort from close range is smothered by two Leverkusen shirts.

81'

Substitution

80'

Wild

Maza buys himself some space to shoot from distance but his attempt goes high, and very wide.

76'

Tillman denied!

A Grimaldo free-kick finds its way to him at the back post, where he takes a touch before firing at Rønnow from a tight angle.

74'

Bodies on the line

Leverkusen still haven't hit the target with a shot, which is partly down to Union throwing their bodies at anything they do try.

Goal attempts

4off target

3on target

10off target

0on target

Bright spark

Maza has been at the heart of Leverkusen's promising attacks, with his direct dribbling causing problems when given the chance to drive at the Union backline.

© IMAGO/Matthias Koch

71'

Substitution

70'

Immediate involvement

Hofmann's run to the byline is found and he crosses low toward the six-yard box, where Union clear for a corner.

68'

Badé departs

He goes down injured just moments after Ilić misses a good chance inside the Bayer box, and Hofmann replaces the Frenchman.

68'

Substitution

65'

Ambitious effort

García looks to bend one in from range but sees his effort go just over the bar, with Rønnow backpedaling.

63'

Nothing to show for it

Can the visitors capitalise on their superior possession?

Passes

196

332

62'

Fresh legs

Leverkusen make a triple change in an attempt to swing the tide of the game their way.

61'

Substitution

Ezequiel Fernández

61'

Substitution

61'

Substitution

Christian Kofane

60'

Yellow card

Leopold Querfeld

Bayer battling

The visitors are desperately trying to take control of this game but have come up against a stubborn Union today.

© IMAGO/nordphoto GmbH / Engler

54'

No penalty

Tillman drives into the box before being knocked over by Doekhi. Bayer's spot-kick claims are waved away.

0:21

Magic Maza

He weaves into the box from the right-hand side before firing in a low cross. Querfeld gets a toe to it which deflects it toward goal, but Rønnow does well to save.

48'

Standing firm

Leverkusen are moving the ball around but Union aren't giving them much space to work with.

46'

We're back!

Leverkusen kick off the second half.

Kick-off!

Half-time: Union Berlin 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen

The hosts go into the break with a slender, but deserved lead. They made life difficult for Leverkusen from the first minute, with the hosts struggling to create throughout the half. Union's goal was characteristic of their spirited performance, with Khedira refusing to giving up on a loose ball before finishing calmly.

© IMAGO/Uwe Koch

Half-time

45'

+ 2

Four added minutes

Can Leverkusen find a late goal?

44'

Yellow card

0:24

Tapsoba over

Grimaldo whips in a corner to the near post where Tapsoba rises highest. He heads over and appeals for another corner, but doesn't see his request granted.

Physical

Union aren't giving the visitors room to breathe.

© IMAGO/nordphoto GmbH / Engler

34'

Frustrated

Leverkusen are yet to record a shot on target.

Goal attempts

3off target

2on target

3off target

0on target

0:22

Blaswich saves!

Schäfer gets in behind before shooting low toward the near post. Blaswich sticks out a strong foot to save.

31'

Can the Werkself respond?

They've struggled to create so far and now find themselves a goal behind.

30'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

1.

Christian Michel Kofane34.51km/h

2.

Stanley Pierre Nsoki34.09km/h

3.

Derrick Arthur Köhn31.83km/h

Union get the opener!

Kemlein plays a ball over the top to Khedira as Union break from a Leverkusen corner. Andrich gets to it first and looks to shield the ball back to his 'keeper, but Khedira wriggles free before lobbing the onrushing Blaswich.

© IMAGO/O.Behrendt

28'

Rani Khedira

GOAL!

1:0

Rani Khedira

Goal probability

Goal probability

Goal probability determines the likelihood that the ball will land in the goal from every position on the pitch. The value is based on large amounts of data from previous years; factors such as shot angle, distance to goal and opponent pressure - as well as mathematical models.

32 %

Distance to Goal

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

12.19 m

27'

Heavy touch

Arthur gets on the end of an incisive pass from Badé before cutting back to Tillman, who can't get a shot off.

26'

Short of ideas

Union are having more of the ball at the moment, but are struggling to unlock the Bayer backline.

End-to-end

While there's been a lack of clear chances for both sides, there's been a fierce tempo to these early exchanges.

© IMAGO/O.Behrendt

20'

Doekhi over

The Union defender gets on the end of the following set-piece, but glances his header well wide.

19'

High boot

Maza's boot connects with the head of the diving Schäfer. Both sides make their complaints, but it's Union who get the free-kick.

Finding their feet

Leverkusen's influence on this game is growing, although Union still look dangerous.

© IMAGO/dts Nachrichtenagentur

13'

Bright start

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

The hosts have been on top early on.

xGoals

0

0.46

0.11

0

Goals

12'

Trimmel enters

Haberer has to be replaced, and Leverkusen can eventually take their free-kick, which hits the wall.

11'

Substitution

Christopher Trimmel

11'

Haberer down

The Union man appears to have injured himself in that challenge and is receiving treatment.

10'

Promising position

Haberer brings down Tillman just a few yards outside the area and the visitors will have a free-kick.

10'

Yellow card

9'

Boxed in

Leverkusen's passing game hasn't yet gotten up to speed, and they're having trouble getting out of their half.

5'

Combative start

The hosts have made a determined start, which Leverkusen are doing their best to counter.

First booking

Nsoki goes into the book after a poor, late challenge on Tillman.

© IMAGO/O.Behrendt

3'

Yellow card

2'

Early chance!

Köhn sweeps in a cross from the left into the six-yard box, where Ilić fails to make contact from a great position.

1'

The first whistle blows!

The hosts get us underway.

Kick-off!

0:16

All set in Berlin

0:28

Keeping sharp

0:05

The Werkself arrive

More on that Leverkusen team

The visitors have made five changes from their win over St. Pauli, with Schick, Poku, Palacios, Vázquez and Quansah dropping to the bench in favour of Kofane (pictured), Tillman, Fernández, Arthur and Badé.

© DFL/Getty Images/Sebastian Widmann

More on that Union team

The hosts make two changes from their loss to Hamburg, with Schäfer and Haberer (pictured) coming in for Ansah and Trimmel.

© DFL/Getty Images/Boris Streubel

Starting line-up: 1. FC Union Berlin

1

Frederik Rønnow

5

6

Aljoscha Kemlein

8

11

13

András Schäfer

14

Leopold Querfeld

19

23

34

39

Union subs

Raab, Trimmel, Markgraf, Král, Skarke, Preu, Ansah, Burcu, Burke

Starting line-up: Bayer 04 Leverkusen

28

5

6

Ezequiel Fernández

8

10

12

13

20

Alejandro Grimaldo

24

30

35

Christian Kofane

Leverkusen subs

Omlin, Quansah, Oermann, Vázquez, Hofmann, Palacios, Terrier, Schick, Poku

0:15

Preparations begin

Kasper Hjulmand on facing Union

"It's obviously a very difficult game. They're a superb side, very structured. Their style of play is a little different to ours, but they implement it very well. It's one of our most difficult games of the season, but we're feeling good after these last seven games. We have a good squad with a lot of quality. We're really excited and we're ready.”

© DFL/Getty Images/Boris Streubel

Steffen Baumgart on facing Leverkusen

"What currently distinguishes them is their ability to capitalise on the opponents' mistakes. They have absolute ball control and don't rush forward. As a neutral spectator, it's a pleasure to watch. As an opposing coach, you have to find ways to prevent them from utilizing these strengths in the first place."

© IMAGO/Philipp Szyza

Midweek boost

Patrik Schick scored two second-half goals as Leverkusen won 2-0 at Greece's Olympiacos on Wednesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 play-off. The return leg will take place at the BayArena on 24 February.

© IMAGO/ONE INCH PRODUCTIONS

Uncharted territory

Union's last league win came against Cologne in December. Since then, they've picked up just four points from a possible 21, enduring their longest winless run under Baumgart.

© IMAGO/nordphoto GmbH/ Witke

They find a way to win

Despite averaging just 42 percent possession - the lowest figure in the league - Union find themselves in 10th place and with an eight-point cushion above the automatic relegation places. That is largely down to their set-piece prowess, with 11 of their 28 goals this season (39 percent) coming from dead-ball situations.

© IMAGO/nordphoto GmbH/ Witke

Watertight defence

After a 4-1 defeat to Stuttgart in their first game of 2026, Leverkusen have significantly shored up their defence. Since Matchday 18, no other side in the league has conceded fewer goals than Leverkusen's three.

© IMAGO/DeFodi.de

2:03

Watch: Leverkusen 2-0 Union - previous meeting

Lady Luck has a habit of shining on Leverkusen in this fixture. They've lost just one of 16 in all competitions (13 in the Bundesliga), winning 10 and drawing five. The only blot to the copybook was a 1-0 loss in Berlin in January 2021.

2:03

Watch: Hamburg 3-2 Union - highlights

Union are now winless in seven (L3 D4) after letting slip a 1-0 lead in defeat to promoted Hamburg last weekend.

2:03

Watch: Leverkusen 4-0 St. Pauli - highlights

Leverkusen made light work of second-bottom St. Pauli on Matchday 22. Kasper Hjulmand's side, who are unbeaten in their last four league fixtures, stay three points outside the top four, but with a rescheduled game in hand against Hamburg to come on 4 March.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this Matchday 23 fixture between Union Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen.