Soccer-Leaders Bayern held 1-1 after late Union Berlin goal


Soccer Football - Bundesliga - 1. FC Union Berlin v Bayern Munich - Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, Berlin, Germany - March 15, 2025 Bayern Munich's Leroy Sane celebrates scoring their first goal with Eric Dier and Dayot Upamecano REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

BERLIN (Reuters) -A moment of uncertainty from goalkeeper Jonas Urbig allowed Benedict Hollerbach to score a late goal as Union Berlin secured a 1-1 home draw on Saturday with Bayern Munich, who still extended their lead atop the Bundesliga standings to nine points.

Bayern, chasing a record-extending 34th league title, climbed to 62 points. Champions Bayer Leverkusen, who are in second place, have a game in hand and travel to face VfB Stuttgart on Sunday.

Vincent Kompany's Bayern began on the front foot and set up camp in Union's half but the hosts were compact in defence and largely limited their opponents to long-range efforts.

Serge Gnabry had Bayern's best chance of the goalless first half in stoppage time when Michael Olise played him through on goal, but his shot from a tight angle was kept out by goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow.

Bayern kept probing after the interval, with Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane fluffing their lines from promising positions, before substitute Leroy Sane finally broke the deadlock in the 75th minute when he fired in Olise's cutback.

For all their early dominance, Bayern's lead lasted just eight minutes.

Union, who had been content to sit back and absorb pressure for much of the match, made a double change as they sought an equaliser and were able to catch Bayern off guard.

Josip Juranovic floated a cross into the penalty area and Urbig, who is deputizing for the injured Manuel Neuer and Daniel Peretz, could manage only a weak punch out which was headed in by former Bayern academy player Hollerbach.

It was a second straight league match without a win for Bayern after their shock 3-2 home loss to VfL Bochum last week.

For Union, who are now winless in their 12 Bundesliga meetings with Bayern, the draw moved them up one place to 13th.

The Berlin side played the match without coach Steffen Baumgart, who was watching on from the stands as he serves a touchline ban.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond and Clare Fallon)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Football

Soccer-Wellington coach Italiano quits after 5-0 loss to rivals Auckland in A-League
Soccer-FA won't take action against Man Utd owner Ratcliffe over immigration remarks
Soccer-Arteta dismisses ‘bottlers’ talk amid title wobble
Soccer-Neymar says he may retire by end of 2026
Kuching brace for intense battle with Selangor in race for second spot
Soccer-Crystal Palace fined over provocative fan banner
Soccer-New boss Tudor '100%' certain Tottenham will avoid relegation from Premier League
Soccer-Carrick sidesteps Ratcliffe immigration row, reinforces Man Utd's values
Soccer-City's Guardiola shrugs off tightening title race, saying 12 games is an eternity
Soccer-Bayern boss Kompany blasts Mourinho over Vinicius racism row response

Others Also Read