European competition, it is said, sometimes has its own logic. On evenings in Liverpool or Barcelona, where the impossible suddenly becomes possible. And also on evenings like Thursday in Brussels, where a team has one of the worst performances of the season in one of the biggest games in their club’s history.
The European adventure is over for 1. FC Union. The “travel squad” in the stands will have to do without international destinations at least until next season. In what has been a dream season so far, you can finally bury a dream. With a 0:3 (0:1) defeat at Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, the Berliners were eliminated from the Europa League on Thursday and missed a great chance of reaching the quarterfinals. Above all, people in Berlin will probably be annoyed for a while about the how.
Union has rarely appeared as toothless as in Brussels this season, and somehow nobody really knew why. It probably wasn’t because of the backdrop, although the stadium wasn’t sold out. Saint-Gilloise had played her previous Europa League home games in the neighboring town of Leuven. The fact that they were now playing in their own city but in the stadium of their hated rival Anderlecht didn’t please all “unionists” and some Ultras even boycotted the game. But it was still loud, in the home block as well as in the guest block. Only on the field it did not ignite.
After the crazy 3: 3 in the first leg, Union actually wanted to return to the basics. Compared to the draw against Wolfsburg, coach Urs Fischer only made one change: Jerome Roussillon was allowed to start on the left flank for Niko Gießelmann. Up front, Sven Michel played from the start for the second time in a row.
But the defensive shakiness of the last few weeks was also clearly felt in Belgium. After just six minutes, Diogo Leite slipped in a dangerous position so that Saint-Gilloise was suddenly three against one in the Berlin penalty area. Only through a great save by Frederik Rönnow and a hit by Victor Boniface did the hosts miss the 1-0.
Union had their first opportunity just a few minutes later with a direct free kick. Somewhat surprisingly, Michel replaced Josip Juranovic and shot the ball straight into the wall before the Croatian’s follow-up shot sailed wide.
However, the people from Köpenick could not shake off the nervousness and the individual mistakes. They remained vulnerable and were punished in the 18th minute. Robin Knoche and Leite again lost the ball unnecessarily, but this time in an even more dangerous position, and Brussels captain Teddy Teuma shot the ball past Rönnow to make it a deserved 1-0.
“Ici, ici, c’est Saint Gilles!” the home fans then sang in a semi-ironic reference to their unfamiliar environment. But somehow they started to believe that Anderlecht could also become a happy place for them. Union, on the other hand, could be happy that it was only 0-1 at half-time. When the Berliners gathered on the sidelines before going into the dressing room for their usual drinking session, the Berliners had ashen faces.
Union needed a 180 degree turn in the second half. Instead, they got more of the same. The decisive blow came after a good hour. Leite ended his difficult evening with another loss, the Belgians danced back into the box and Lazare Amani celebrated his elegant finish with a somersault.
Shortly thereafter, the shouts of “Olé” began in the home block. Union still had 20 minutes to save themselves, but hope was long gone. When Janik Haberer had to leave the field with the second yellow card after a wrong decision by the referee and Loic Lapoussin added another goal in injury time, the Berliners felt like they were already on the plane home.
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