
Union Berlin lost to Heidenheim, who were previously on a 15-match winless streak in the Bundesliga.
Union Berlin currently has 32 points with five matchdays remaining in the season.
Rani Khedira is the captain of Union Berlin, and he condemned the team's performance, taking responsibility for the disappointment of their supporters.
The loss against Heidenheim highlighted worrying trends for Union Berlin, making their upcoming match against Wolfsburg critical for maintaining their position in the league.
Union Berlin faced a disappointing defeat against last-placed Heidenheim, prompting criticism from both trainer Steffen Baumgart and captain Rani Khedira. Despite having 32 points and likely avoiding relegation, the team's performance raised concerns ahead of their next match against Wolfsburg.
Union Berlin troubled over âdesolate and dismalâ Bundesliga performance against Heidenheim
Union Berlin trainer Steffen Baumgart found himself in a very different mood than last week after Saturdayâs Bundesliga loss to last-placed Heidenheim. Squad captain Rani Khedira also condemned the teamâs performance, which featured an unfortunate tantrum from Scottish striker Oliver Burke. Though Union are likely safe from relegation on 32 points with five matchdays remaining, the Heidenheim defeat highlighted plenty of worrying trends.
Heidenheim snapped a 15 match Bundesliga winless run against Union this weekend. The club just above Heidenheim in the second automatic relegation slot (Wolfsburg) saw their Bundesliga winless run extended to 12 matches courtesy of their latest defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt. Union host Wolfsburg next week. There may yet be hope for the German Wolves if Baumgartâs Eisernen cannot significantly improve upon what they delivered this round.
Traveling Union supporters to âwake upâ when it came time to visit the guest block after the full-time whistle. Khedira â the teamâs de-facto skipper whenever 39-year-old Christopher Trimmel isnât on the pitch â referenced the chants from the FanKurve while speaking in the mixed zone. The 32-year-old took full responsibility for the disappointment of the traveling supporters of the club he represents
âThat was a dismal performance from us,â Khedira summarized. âIt was desolate. We need to do better and pull ourselves together. We havenât done very well this [2026 calendar] year. Itâs time to stop overthinking things and get back to playing our football. We owe the fans a lot after the last weeks and months.â
âWeâll have to apologize for letting [Heidenheimâs] first two shots in,â Baumgart began in his opening statement at the post match press conference. âI have to admit that, after the first ten minutes, we totally failed to execute as we needed to. We couldnât compete against Heidenheim on equal footing. We did absolutely nothing to be successful here today. Very disappointing.â
âWeâre a simple and straightforward kind of team that knows exactly what we need to do in order to win games,â Baumgart answered when asked about how the team would prepare for Wolfsburg next week. âWe didnât do that today. If we donât do it next week, things can prove even more difficult. Wolfsburg is a team with plenty of individual quality. We need to execute simple and clear directives.
âItâs not just one game,â Baumgart continued. âWeâve played a poor second half of the season and I take responsibility for that. Itâs aggravating. I think last weekâs performance was reasonable enough. It was [only one personnel change] basically the same team. The same team couldnât deliver today. Again, Iâm responsible. Itâs not just this game. Weâve been doing a lot of things wrong.â
After celebrating a Bundesliga speed record last week, Scottish striker Oliver Burke was yanked by Baumgart in the 62nd minute. The 29-year-old â who still hasnât scored for Union in either the 2026 calendar year or the second half of the season â was clearly displeased with the decision. Burke tore off his jersey and threw it onto the pitch.
âI think there are other topics for us to discuss now,â Baumgart responded. âEveryone knows that Olli is an emotional player and Iâm generally satisfied with what he does. He tried to make things happen with his sprints and deep runs today. He did well. Itâs not a good a good feeling to be the first player subbed off. Thatâs all it was. We donât need to make anything more out of it.
âIâll reiterate that Olli is a good player who can do a lot for us when heâs on the pitch,â Baumgart continued. âWe failed to deliver as a team and as a collective today. Iâll kindly ask you to not make some sort of story out of this.â
GGFNÂ |Â Peter Weis
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