By Sedara Oluwadara
Paul Jaeckel helped Union Berlin go two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table with a hard-fought 1-0 win at 10-man Stuttgart on Sunday.
Jaeckel’s 76th-minute goal was followed by a second yellow card for Serhou Guirassy just seven minutes later, leaving Stuttgart short-handed and Union in control.
Union’s rivals Freiburg, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund all drew this weekend, giving the Berliners a chance to extend their lead.
Stuttgart-born Union midfielder Rani Khedira said relief rather than elation was the major feeling. “It was a lucky win for us.
We wanted to play compact and then somehow score the goal,” Khedira told DAZN.
“We managed to do that. We didn’t show a nice game – you could tell we were tired.”
Union manager Urs Fischer agreed with Khedira, saying “given the chances (we had), you might need a bit of match luck – and we had that today.”
“We were a bit sloppy in the beginning, but over time we got better and better – the boys did a great game today.”
Union have now been on top of the table for four consecutive weeks but the current two-point gap is the widest so far.
Stuttgart are second-last and are the only team in the Bundesliga without a win this season.
Source: AFP
