Livian Burcu fires Union Berlin to first win of the season over Elversberg
A deflected effort from substitute Livan Burcu settled a tight contest at the Alte Försterei, handing Mauro Lustrinelli's Union Berlin their first Bundesliga win of the season against league newcomers Elversberg.
Union Berlin 1-0 Elversberg
Goals: 1-0 Burcu 81’
Following their record biggest defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich before the international break (7-0), Mauro Lustrinelli made three changes to his Union side ahead of the clash with Elversberg, with Zeno van den Bosch, Kastriot Imeri and Tim Skarke all starting.
Vincent Wagner likewise made three alterations following his side's goalless draw at Schalke last time out, handing full debuts to Luca Sirch, Tom Zimmerschied and Noel Futkeu.
Union press but cannot find a breakthrough
Union set the early tempo in the first half, with Tim Skarke twice forcing saves out of Nicolas Kristof, first from a powerful low drive and later from distance. András Schäfer also tested the goalkeeper from far out with a dipping free-kick that Kristof turned behind at full stretch, but despite their front-foot approach, the go-ahead goal remained elusive for the hosts.
Meanwhile, after a slow start Elversberg grew into the game and came closest to scoring when Maximilian Rohr's header from a corner cannoned off the crossbar in the 35th minute. Then, just before the break, Frederik Rønnow produced an excellent reaction save to deny Noah Darvich from a tight angle, ensuring it was level-pegging at the interval.
Burcu breaks the deadlock
Elversberg started the brighter after the restart, with Noel Futkeu and Lasse Günther both testing Union early on. Goalkeeper Rønnow was then called into action again to deny Maurice Krattenmacher shortly after.
After weathering this early pressure, Union's decisive moment came in the 81st minute. After Christopher Trimmel's corner was only partially cleared, the ball found Burcu at the edge of the box, whose first-time effort took a heavy deflection off Felix Keidel to wrong-foot Kristof and nestle in the corner.
Union pushed for a second through late efforts from Schäfer and Burcu, while Łukasz Poręba's spectacular overhead kick for Elversberg was clawed away by Rønnow, preserving his side's slender 1-0 lead until the final whistle.
Man of the Match: Livan Burcu
Burcu came off the bench and struck not just the only goal of the game, but he also had further efforts blocked late on as Union pushed for a second. It was for these reasons he was voted Man of the Match with 51 percent of the fan vote.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Union Berlin 1.23 - Elversberg 0.32
Fastest player: Lasse Günther (Elversberg), 34.3 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 1-0 by Livan Burcu (Union Berlin), 5 percent
Pass efficiency: Michel Aebischer (Union Berlin), +2.41
Fantasy Heroes: Frederik Rønnow (Union Berlin, 231 Points), Livan Burcu (Union Berlin, 178 Points), András Schäfer (Union Berlin, 174 Points)
