Union Berlin staged a late two-goal comeback, including a stoppage-time winner through Danilho Doekhi, on Sunday to snatch a 2-1 win over visiting Borussia Moenchengladbach and remain top of the Bundesliga, one point ahead of Bayern Munich.
Kevin Behrens’s powerful header levelled the score in the 79th for Union, avoiding a second consecutive loss for the club, who have surprisingly led the title race for more than a month.
Doekhi’s last-gasp header in the sixth minute of stoppage time then handed Union the three points to move them up to 26, with Bayern Munich on 25 points following their 6-2 win over Mainz 05 on Saturday. Freiburg stayed third, a further point behind, after easing past Schalke 04 2-0 with both goals from their top scorer Vincenzo Grifo.
“This is amazing really. A fantastic momentary snapshot,” said Union coach Urs Fischer, whose team’s run this season has exceeded expectations.
Gladbach’s Nico Elvedi headed in for the lead in the 33rd minute from a Lars Stindl corner, with the visitors controlling possession in the first half.
The hosts earned the equaliser when Behrens beat keeper Tobias Sippel 11 minutes from the end. Union then put the ball in the net again but Christopher Trimmel’s 87th-minute header was overruled by the VAR before Doekhi got the winner with the last move of the game.
Midfielder Rani Khedira said it showed “the character in this squad” that Union can keep up its form despite a packed schedule in the Bundesliga and Europa League. Khedira paid tribute to the “crazy fans” packing Union’s terraces for driving the team to victory.
Freiburg rose above Borussia Dortmund to third with a 2-0 win over last-place Schalke, whose new coach Thomas Reis lost his first game in charge.
Vincenzo Grifo was given space to score with a curling shot from the edge of the box in first-half stoppage time, then extended Freiburg’s lead from the penalty spot after Jeong Woo-yeong was tripped.
Hoffenheim held on for a 1-1 draw with Cologne after defender Ozan Kabak was sent off in the 87th for a second booking. Florian Kainz opened the scoring for Cologne from close range off Linton Maina’s cross before Jacob Bruun Larsen leveled for Hoffenheim.
