Prior to Union's most recent match against RB Leipzig, everything seemed to have been going according to plan with one-sided victories over Mainz and Darmstadt to begin their Bundesliga season. However, in the match against Leipzig, Union were brought back down to earth with a 3-0 loss. Union never stood a chance as their opponents from Saxony dominated proceedings almost right from opening kick-off.
The scoreline arguably did not even accurately reflect how one-sided this match was; with almost twice Union's possession and 14 shots to Union's three, Leipzig could easily have won by a larger margin. That being said, as far as the scoreline itself was concerned, the turning point of the match was Volland's red card in the 65th minute. At the time, Leipzig were leading 1-0 after Xavi Simons scored a spectacular goal from just outside the penalty area shortly after the half-time break. Leipzig added the last two goals, both scored by substitute Benjamin Šeško, well after Union were reduced to 10 men.
Even at this early stage of the season, two issues have already made themselves evident within this team: defensive discipline and lack of possession. The fact that Union have had a player sent off in two of their first three league matches has to be concerning. Additionally, over those same two matches, Union have averaged just over 30% of the possession - a clip which is certainly not sustainable if they are to replicate or even surpass their impressive 2022-23 league campaign.
Some had claimed that this could be the season when Union consolidated their status as a mainstay of the top four in the Bundesliga once and for all by backing up their unprecedented Champions League qualification last season with a similar result. However, the reality of the situation is that at the moment, much like La Liga with Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid, the Bundesliga appears to have settled into a pattern of a clear-cut top three of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Leipzig. Despite having finished just four points behind Leipzig last season, this match showed that there is still a clear gap between even Dortmund and Leipzig, let alone Bayern, and the "best of the rest".
It must also be kept in mind that two of the teams which Union beat out to the Bundesliga's final Champions League qualification spot last season have themselves made significant upgrades to their rosters. Bankrolled by the lucrative transfers of Moussa Diaby and Randal Kolo Muani to Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt both spent heavily during transfer window. Not counting players signed for undisclosed transfer fees, the two clubs combined to spend over €140 million this past off-season.
On top of that, many clubs who have qualified for the Champions League for the first time have experienced domestic league drop-offs in the very next season owing to the difficulty of juggling those two separate schedules. While on paper it appears no different to what Union have previously done with the Europa Conference League and Europa League, the Champions League is a different beast entirely. Many Champions League debutants who thought they could handle the grind ended up falling by the wayside - in continental play as well as domestically.
Having been drawn into a difficult Champions League group featuring Napoli and Real Madrid as well as being the hunted rather than the hunter for the first time in their Bundesliga history, at least as far as a top-four spot is concerned, Union Berlin certainly have their work cut out for them this season. That said, the last decade or so has seen them shatter all manner of expectations - however, only time will tell if this next one would be a step too far for now.
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