Top News

11 September 2026

On a cloudy evening with the temperature at 17 degrees in the federal capital, 1. FC Union Berlin (0-1-1, 15th) hosted FC Schalke 04 (0-1-1, 14th) in Matchweek 3 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season at Stadion An der Alten Försterei.

Union Berlin, now in their eighth Bundesliga campaign, had opened with a 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, but then failed to manage even one shot on target in last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Schalke, back in the Bundesliga for the first time since 2022/23, began with a 3-0 loss to FC Augsburg before responding with a goalless draw against reigning German champions FC Bayern Munich.

This was the seventh meeting between the clubs, with the head-to-head record standing level at 1-4-1. Schalke’s only previous win came in 2019/20, a 2-1 result at Veltins-Arena, while Union’s lone victory was a commanding 6-1 win in the 2022/23 season, with that match also played in Gelsenkirchen. With the other 16 teams still to play their third fixtures, the winners of this contest were set to climb to seventh in the table, though they would likely settle into mid-table once the full round concluded on Sunday.

The home side, in red, kicked off and attacked from left to right in the first half, while Schalke, in blue, moved right to left when going forward. The visitors created the first opening after 10 minutes, when a through ball from Robin Gosens on the left side of the Union half found Kenan Karaman on the edge of the area. The Turkey striker and team captain spotted enough room to aim for the top-left corner and came close, his right-footed effort sailing over the outstretched hands of a jumping Frederik Rønnow and just over the bar.

Schalke won a corner five minutes later, with Adil Aouchiche delivering towards the near post. Dejan Ljubičić met it with a strong header, but the Austria attacking midfielder sent the ball comfortably over the top-right corner and out of play. Aouchiche then fashioned a chance for himself in the 19th minute, only to see his curling right-footed effort towards the top-left corner brilliantly kept out by the leaping Rønnow.

At around the same point, Ljubičić’s leg was caught by the boot of Aljoscha Kemlein during a challenge on the right side of the Union penalty area, prompting him to immediately ask for an early substitution because of injury concerns. Unwilling to take risks with an important player so early in the season, Miron Muslić made the change, bringing on 25-year-old France-born Cameroon winger Junior Dina Ebimbe for the 28-year-old.

In the 24th minute, a cross from Soufiane El-Faouzi from the right side of the Union half glanced off the head of Leopold Querfeld and dropped towards Robin Gosens, who volleyed it in off the inside of the right post and into the bottom-left corner to score Schalke’s first Bundesliga goal since returning to the top flight. It was a major moment for Gosens, who grew up supporting Schalke, but his celebration was restrained as the goal came against the club for whom he made 31 appearances between 2023 and 2025. Even so, the visitors had moved ahead with only their second shot on target at the Alte Försterei.

Union Berlin responded with two openings in the following minutes. First, Emmanuel Latte Lath sent a rolling effort straight into the gloves of Loris Karius. Then a cross from Croatia right-back Josip Juranović was gathered comfortably by the 33-year-old German goalkeeper.

Schalke then broke the other way, with a sharp through ball from Karaman sending Aouchiche through in a 2v1 situation. Aouchiche slipped the ball past Rønnow’s left leg and it rolled towards the line, but Tom Rothe sprinted into the empty space inside the goal area and hacked it well clear. Schalke kept the pressure on in the next minute and came close again when Junior Adamu’s shot from the right side of the box was blocked by the same leg of the 34-year-old Denmark goalkeeper.

Four minutes before half-time, Michel Aebischer tried his luck from distance, but his shot was gathered by Karius in the middle of the goal. That was followed by a similar but weaker attempt from El-Faouzi at the other end, one that Rønnow collected without difficulty. Referee Timo Gerach then sent both teams into the dressing rooms after two minutes of first-half stoppage time, with the side from Nordrhein-Westfalen leading 1-0.

Die Königsblauen had been the stronger side in the opening half, outshooting Union 12-5 and leading 5-2 in efforts on target. Possession, however, favoured Union at 66%, and they also held a 15% advantage in pass accuracy, completing 191 passes at 77% compared to Schalke’s 81 at 62%. The standout statistic was touches in the opposition box: despite creating most of the chances, Schalke had only two more, with 16 compared to Union’s 14.

Karaman took the opening kick of the second half, rolling the ball back to Karius, who launched it long. Within 30 seconds, the ball dropped into the right side of the box from a long pass by Ebimbe and fell in front of Adamu, who then squared to Aouchiche on his right. From inside the area, Aouchiche struck powerfully with his right foot, the ball hitting the underside of the bar and crossing the line.

The flag initially went up for offside, but a review involving video assistants Nicolas Winter and Justus Zorn eventually showed that Aouchiche had been marginally onside when the pass was played. Gerach’s final ruling was therefore that the goal stood, and Schalke had doubled their lead.

Marin Ljubičić, introduced as one of two half-time changes by Mauro Lustrinelli for Union, nearly pulled one back just four minutes later. His right-footed shot from distance travelled through a couple of Schalke defenders, but Karius dived and secured it with both hands. The other substitute, András Schäfer, also had a chance in the 53rd minute, though Karius managed to punch that effort away with both hands as well.

In the 55th minute, Rani Khedira advanced into the right side of Schalke’s defensive third before floating a cross towards the left side of the six-yard area. Rothe attacked the space, rose above Nikola Katić and met it with a towering header, but the attempt clipped the top of the bar and went behind for a goal kick. About a minute and a half later, Jeong Woo-yeong tried to create a similar opening with another left-footed delivery, but Karius read it well and claimed the ball with both hands.

For the second time in Union’s three matches, play had to be stopped because of an injury involving an official. This time it was referee Timo Gerach, who appeared to be struggling with his right leg. After a seven-minute interruption, he headed down the tunnel for treatment. It was then decided in the 67th minute that 28-year-old fourth official Jarno Wienefeld would assume the main refereeing duties, and play resumed two minutes later with a drop ball to the hosts. Alexander Sather and Patrick Kessel remained on the touchlines.

Wienefeld’s first major decision was to show a yellow card to Marin Ljubičić, not for the original foul itself, which had involved tripping Katić’s right leg, but for the Croatia striker’s reaction after the free-kick had been awarded. Uduokhai then collected the hosts’ third yellow card of the evening after sending Aouchiche to the ground while the Schalke player was shielding the ball from a clean sliding challenge.

In the 82nd minute, Schalke had a dangerous chance to make it 3-0. The move began with a failed clearance by Uduokhai, the ball bouncing off the back of his head and back into the left side of the area for Aouchiche. He then used the outside of his right boot to flick a pass towards the penalty spot, where Adamu had a one-on-one opportunity. The Austria right midfielder tried to place his finish into the bottom-left corner, but Rønnow stretched out his right leg to save.

Union made Schalke pay in the sixth of 12 added minutes, halving the deficit. Rothe won a header against Ebimbe, setting up former Schalke attacking midfielder Tim Skarke, who had replaced Latte Lath 15 minutes earlier. Skarke hammered a left-footed volley beyond the advancing Karius, the ball striking the inside of the bar, bouncing down and crossing the line.

In the eighth minute of stoppage time, a chance for Rani Khedira in the middle of the goal area was blocked by the leg of a sliding Vitalie Becker. Karius, who had dived to his left, could not recover in time to deal with Skarke’s rebound at first, but still did enough to deny the equaliser by punching the ball away with both hands.

Two minutes later, Maximilian Wöber sealed Schalke’s first Bundesliga victory since 5 May 2023, when they won 3-2 at 1. FSV Mainz 05. He took a pass from Hwang Hee-chan into the middle of the box from the right side of the Union defensive third before smashing the ball into the bottom-right corner.

That proved to be the final kick of the game, as Schalke claimed their first win over Union since 29 November 2019, taking this match 3-1 and climbing seven places, for the time being, up to seventh in the table. Schalke will now try to secure their first winning record in the Bundesliga since 17 January 2020 (9-6-3) when they face fellow newly promoted side SV 07 Elversberg on Sunday, 20 September, with kick-off scheduled for 17.30 (CET).

As for 1. FC Union Berlin, who remain 15th in the standings, they will play next Friday’s prime-time fixture and attempt to produce a shock result against FC Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena. Kick-off for that match is set for 20.30 (CET).