Borussia Dortmund is staying the course in the Bundesliga. At Union Berlin, BVB doesn’t have to shine to win. A penalty from Emre Can (10th), a header from Nico Schlotterbeck (53rd) after a corner and a late goal from Maximilian Beier (84th) gave Dortmund a 3-0 (1-0) victory on the 19th matchday of the Bundesliga.
Effective Dortmund secured their third Bundesliga victory in a row and have been unbeaten in the league since October. “That’s probably what makes a top team like Borussia Dortmund”said Union defender Leopold Querfeld at the sports show microphone: “It wasn’t the first game that they won without having more of a share of the game.”
After Bayern Munich’s surprising 1-2 defeat against FC Augsburg, Dortmund’s 42 points mean that the Westphalians have reduced the gap to eight points – and very optimists can perhaps still dream of a championship duel. Union, which had recently shown winning qualities with late comeback goals, will remain winless in its fourth game in 2026, but sits in the currently safe no-man’s land of the table with 24 points.
Guirassy falls, Can converts the penalty
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After the disastrous performance at least in the first half of the 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, Dortmund took advantage of their first opportunity at the “Alte Försterei” in Köpenick on Saturday. With a bit of luck, Serhou Guirassy prevailed with a solo through the center.
A rebound from a duel jumped away from him towards the goal, but the BVB attacker got to the ball just before Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow and fell over the keeper. Referee Robert Hartmann immediately decided on a penalty and received no objection from the video center. Can grabs the ball and, like last time in the lucky 3-2 win against St. Pauli, he sinks it cold. 1:0.
Union overall too harmless
This meant that the course was set even without Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt in the starting lineup. As a result, BVB was able to concentrate on defense and watch as very staid Union players worked at it offensively. Coach Steffen Baumgart’s team was unable to get a shot on goal in the first half.
Diogo Leite (28th) had the best opportunity, rising highest at the second post after a corner from the left, but his header went just over.
Schlotterbeck quickly provides clarity
Since the guests then scored early in the second half with Schlotterbeck’s header to make it 2-0 after a Ryerson corner, there was no longer any rush. Even if Can did everything he could for a few minutes. First, Dortmund’s captain received a yellow card after a scuffle including a push. Then he made too much drama out of two of the opponent’s fouls, so that the Union fans had a figure to build up the mood.
However, this had no impact on the game. Dortmund continued to defend seriously and when coach Niko Kovac Can preventively replaced him after 69 minutes, it was the last time that the mood in the stands ran a little high – also because Union couldn’t do anything offensively.
Beier ensured the final calm with the 3-0 when he took the ball into the penalty area with the first contact on the half-right and ensured the final score with a dry shot into the far corner.
Union in Hoffenheim, Dortmund with two home games
Borussia Dortmund will first fight for a good position for the knockout phase against Inter Milan on Wednesday (January 28, 2026, 9 p.m.) on the last group match day of the Champions League and will then host 1. FC Heidenheim, bottom of the Bundesliga, on Sunday evening (5:30 p.m.).
After second-placed Borussia Dortmund, Union has third-placed team on the agenda on matchday 20. On Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.) the “Irons” will play against 1899 Hoffenheim.
