FC Augsburg and Union Berlin play out a 1-1 draw with two red cards

A goalless first half turned into an eventful finish at the WWK Arena, as two red cards and two late goals left FC Augsburg and 1. FC Union Berlin sharing a point apiece. Han-Noah Massengo's header looked set to decide it until Janik Haberer levelled three minutes later, and both sides spent the closing stages a man down.

An early red changes the shape of the game

Union Berlin's afternoon got harder before it had really started: Felix Uduokhai was sent off in the 19th minute, leaving the visitors to see out more than seventy minutes with ten men. Augsburg could not find a way through before the break despite the extra man, and it took until the 63rd minute — when Juma Bah was also shown red for the hosts — for the game to even itself back out numerically.

The goals, when they came, arrived in a rush. Han-Noah Massengo headed Augsburg in front in the 71st minute, finishing off a cross from Fabian Rieder, only for Janik Haberer to equalise for Union Berlin three minutes later. Neither side could find a winner in the time that remained, and ten-against-ten football settled for a draw that leaves both still searching for consistency.

How the goals came

Match stats

Cards

• 19' — Felix Uduokhai (1. FC Union Berlin), red
• 31' — Janik Haberer (1. FC Union Berlin), yellow
• 36' — Leopold Querfeld (1. FC Union Berlin), yellow
• 63' — Juma Bah (FC Augsburg), red
• 77' — Mekhi Anthony Gray (1. FC Union Berlin), yellow

Form coming in

Augsburg had won their first two matches of this run before a draw with Bayern Munich and a defeat at Elversberg checked their momentum — two wins, a draw and a loss in their last five, with 13 goals scored. Union Berlin's picture had been bleaker: three straight losses, including a 0-7 defeat at Bayern Munich, before a first win of the season against Elversberg and a goalless draw with Dortmund steadied things. A point at Augsburg, with ten men for most of the second half, fits that same pattern of a side still finding its feet.

Line-ups

• FC Augsburg (3-4-2-1): Finn Dahmen — Chrislain Matsima, Calvin Brackelmann, Juma Bah — Fabian Rieder, Han-Noah Massengo, Hennes Behrens, Marius Wolf — Michael Gregoritsch, Arijon Ibrahimovic — Anton Kade
• 1. FC Union Berlin (4-2-3-1): Frederik Ronnow — Felix Uduokhai, Zeno Van Den Bosch, Tom Rothe — Janik Haberer, Michel Aebischer, Rani Khedira, András Schäfer — Tim Skarke, Livan Burcu — Jeong Woo-Yeong

What the result means

Augsburg move up to 9th on 9 points, still well clear of the bottom half despite the dropped points. Union Berlin's point takes them to 6, but they stay 17th and inside the relegation zone, with the third-worst defensive record in the division — a problem the two red cards in this game did nothing to disguise.