Union Berlin goes top of the Bundesliga and Haller scores the first Dortmund goal. Union Berlin’s Jordan Pefok thundered in an 84th-minute goal to secure a 2-1 home victory over Mainz on Saturday and send them top of the Bundesliga with a fourth straight league win. Union moves to 39 points from 19 games, two ahead of Bayern Munich, who visits VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday. Third-placed Borussia Dortmund is also on 37 points after thrashing Freiburg 5-1.
Union Berlin go top of Bundesliga and Haller scores first Dortmund goal
Union, unbeaten at home this season, has now recorded two more league victories than Bayern. The hosts got off to a strong start, with Jérôme Roussillon and Rani Khedira coming close before Kevin Behrens slotted in after 32 minutes for a deserved lead. Mainz had few chances in the game, but they did get a 78th-minute penalty for handball thanks to a VAR review and substitute Marcus Ingvartsen equalized from the spot.
Borussia Dortmund crushed 10-man Freiburg, with Sébastien Haller on target for the first time since his return from cancer treatment, to the delight of the home fans. It took Union six minutes to carve out the winner, with Jordan rifling in from close range after Mainz failed to clear a cross to keep their sensational campaign going. The visitors, who dropped to sixth place on 34 points, slipped up at the start, with Kiliann Sildillia booked twice in three minutes to reduce his team to 10 men in the 17th minute.
Dortmund did not take long to make their advantage count, and former Freiburg defender Nico Schlotterbeck rifled in for the lead from the tightest of angles in the 26th. Dortmund had Freiburg firmly on the back foot, but the visitors struck against the run of play with Lucas Höler drilling in a loose ball after the hosts had failed to clear it near the end of the first half. However, the order was quickly restored after the restart as Dortmund scored twice in three minutes.
