Union Berlin score late winner in win vs ten men Köln

Union Berlin grabbed a late winner to beat the ten men of Köln and see off 2025 in the top eight of the Bundesliga.

Ahead of the game, the situation in the table meant that both Union Berlin and Köln would guarantee a top-half finish at the end of the year with a win.

Köln applied pressure from early on in the game and dominated possession during the first half. 

In the seventh minute, Jakub Kaminski’s low driven shot was saved neatly by Ronnow for Union Berlin. 

Controlling the large portion of possession, Köln are however unable to make it count.

During the 44th minute, Kaminski had another 

Both sides entered half time level.

During the 67th minute, Marvin Schwäbe pulled off a spectacular save onto the post after Querfeld headed the ball towards goal from a corner.

Union then brought in big striker Tim Skarke in the hopes of grabbing a last gasp winner in the 73rd minute alongside fellow striker Andrej Ilić and defender Juranovic for the 38-year-old Christopher Trimmel.

However, Köln were dealt a huge blow in the 83rd minute as Rav Van Den Berg received a red card for a handball as the last player.

Seeing out the last ten minutes plus added time with ten men, Union applied heavy pressure with lots of crosses. 

Seeing an opportunity, Baumgart brought on András Schäfer a few minutes later to try and grab a winner.

In added time, it was indeed Schäfer who grabbed the winner thanks to a clearance from a corner landed in his feet as he is able to score from just outside the box.

Following this, Union Berlin were able to sit comfortably on their lead with the man advantage following the red card.

This results leaves Köln winless in December, with Union Berlin ending the year in eighth.