Union slumps to 5-0 defeat at Leverkusen; Bayern top

Sun, Nov 6, 2022
Soccer News (AP)

BERLIN (AP) - Union Berlin's punishing schedule finally took its toll Sunday with a 5-0 defeat after a disastrous second half at Bayer Leverkusen to leave Bayern Munich top of the Bundesliga after 13 rounds.

Moussa Diaby scored twice and Adam Hlozek and Mitchel Bakker added two more after former Union midfielder Robert Andrich had opened the scoring.

It was Union's heaviest defeat of the season despite previously having the meanest defense in the league. It had only conceded nine goals in 12 games.

Union's third defeat left Bayern two points clear with two rounds remaining before the league's extended winter break to accommodate the World Cup in Qatar.

Union, which was only promoted for the first time in 2019, had been top for seven weeks since a 1-0 win at Cologne on Sept. 11.

Union had won eight of its last nine games and had traveled to Leverkusen directly from its 1-0 Europa League win over Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium on Thursday.

Union coach Urs Fischer made four changes to his lineup from that game but was unable to compensate for Leverkusen's fresher legs as the home team ran riot in the second half.

Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso also made four changes to the team that drew 0-0 with Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Both teams canceled each other out in a lackluster first half with few highlights.

Then Andrich broke the deadlock right after the break with a low shot after a corner. He didn't celebrate out of respect for his former team, but his teammates had no such restrictions.

The next goal was a gift from goalkeeper Lennart Grill - who is on loan from Leverkusen - when he failed to control a back pass and the ball fell to Diaby, who raced clear of the despairing Union defenders to score off the left post.

The French forward grabbed his second two minutes later, finishing off a counterattack started by Mitchel Bakker as Union had pushed for a response.

Fischer reacted with three changes at once, but Leverkusen maintained its dominance. Grill denied Diaby a hat trick.

Nadim Amiri crossed for Hlozek to score his first Bundesliga goal with his heel in the 68th, then Hlozek set up Bakker for the fifth in the 76th.

The win lifted Leverkusen out of the relegation zone. It was only its third league win of the season.

Freiburg hosted Cologne later Sunday.

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