Union Berlin come from behind to return to the top of the Bundesliga

Danilho Doekhi scored a sensational 97th-minute winner as Union Berlin returned to the top Bundesliga with a 2-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Urs Fischer’s men were knocked off the top of the Bundesliga by Bayern Munich yesterday, and responded by completely controlling the early phases here.

Their high press was keeping the visitors contained, but Union desperately struggled for goal sightings. In fact, Daniel Farke’s men were the more threatening, as Alassane Pléa proved with his side’s first shot of the game, a powerful free-kick that needed tipping over by Frederik Rønnow.

Farke was celebrating his 46th birthday, and his side’s proficiency from set-pieces provided the perfect present as Gladbach took the lead. 

Lars Stindl’s corner found a completely unmarked Nico Elvedi, with the delivery so perfectly accurate the Swiss didn’t even have to jump to direct his header into the bottom corner. That was their fifth goal from a corner in the Bundesliga this season, the most of any side in the division.

The visitors clearly had their tails up and the in-form Marcus Thuram nearly provided a Halloween special. The Frenchman had the tricks, flicking the ball over Rønnow in spectacular fashion, but failed to provide the treat with a header that landed on the roof of the net.

Despite a vociferous home crowd cheering them on, there was a surprising lack of urgency from Union after the break as they pursued an equaliser. 

In the end, it would be a goalkeeping howler that handed Die Eisernen a route back into the contest. Tobias Sippel failed to get a hand on Diogo Leite’s speculative cross, allowing Kevin Behrens to bravely head home the leveller.

Veteran full-back Christopher Trimmel thought he had headed the winner in the closing stages, only to see his strike chalked off for offside. 

Into the seventh of six added minutes, Union snatched the winner, as a corner routine delivered into the area was headed home by Doekhi to score his first ever Bundesliga goal. 

Union will lead the division for a seventh consecutive matchday in extraordinary fashion, condemning Gladbach to a sixth consecutive road trip without a win.