Union and Stuttgart defy xG and low expectations in joyous Berlin thriller | Andy Brassell
Few expected this Köpenick clash to deliver many thrills, but the two clubs served up eight first-half goalsIt was not the game, at the start of the weekend, that leapt from the fixtures page as a history maker. Even afterwards, if you looked at the numbers below the top line it hardly seemed a game to make you leap from your seat.Yet few first halves have scrambled perception and expectation as much as Union Berlin’s meeting with Stuttgart on Saturday evening. Fifty-one minutes and 48 seconds which bedazzled and befuddled in equal measure at Stadion An der Alten Försterei, the claustrophobic arena known for unrelenting atmosphere, emotion but very few goals. In this first half, Union matched a third of the goals they had already scored at home all season, taking their season tally in their yard from 12 to 16. It was the first time a Bundesliga game has ever contained eight first-half goals; four, in this case, for each side. Continue reading...
Few expected this Köpenick clash to deliver many thrills, but the two clubs served up eight first-half goals
It was not the game, at the start of the weekend, that leapt from the fixtures page as a history maker. Even afterwards, if you looked at the numbers below the top line it hardly seemed a game to make you leap from your seat.
Yet few first halves have scrambled perception and expectation as much as Union Berlin’s meeting with Stuttgart on Saturday evening. Fifty-one minutes and 48 seconds which bedazzled and befuddled in equal measure at Stadion An der Alten Försterei, the claustrophobic arena known for unrelenting atmosphere, emotion but very few goals. In this first half, Union matched a third of the goals they had already scored at home all season, taking their season tally in their yard from 12 to 16. It was the first time a Bundesliga game has ever contained eight first-half goals; four, in this case, for each side. Continue reading...
