Union Berlin’s Marie-Louise Eta celebrates first Bundesliga point, spectacular comeback, and breakout prospect Livan Burcu (21) | OneFootball

Union Berlin head coach Marie-Louise Eta – commemorating her first Bundesliga point since her historic appointment – has had a chance to directly praise her team. Eta had much to be proud of. Union battled back from a 0-2 deficit to draw relegation rivals Köln 2-2 at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei in Köpenick. The point earned does die Eisernen a tremendous amount of good, not to mention snaps a three-game losing streak.

Marie-Louise Eta bold with personnel selections

After losing her first two Bundesliga fixtures, Eta made five changes to the XI that lost against Leipzig last week. Slumping defensive leader Leopold Querfeld ws among those sacrificed. Captain Christopher Trimmel, took a seat too along with buttressing support attackers Andras Schäfer and Janik Haberer. Striker Andrej Ilic was also replaced.

The decision to replace Querfeld with Stanley Nsoki in the back-three was somewhat questionable given the fact that Bundesliga rookie keeper Carl Klaus had to make his first ever German top flight start due to No. 1 Frederik Rønnow being ruled out for the season. Much of what Eta tried initially didn’t work, but she was able to make the proper adjustments.

Eta’s tactical switches and substitutions succeed

Ilic and Trimmel were eventually introduced. Nsoki made way for attacker Tim Skarke in the 67th-minute, heralding a shift from a 3-3-2-2 to 4-4-2 formation. The most important personnel move Eta made, involved introducing rising German-Turkish attacking prospect Livan Burcu in the 58th-minute.

After pulling a goal back via a well-executed set-piece in the 73rd-minute, Burcu finally achieved his long-awaited breakthrough. The 21-year-old netted his first Bundesliga goal on the 89th-minute equalizer; a stunning piece of individual class. Trimmel also collected an assist on Tom Rothe’s 1-2. 

Eta praises Union Berlin players

“The lads played their hearts out and left it all on the pitch,” Eta said at the post-match press conference. “They gave it their all, and when we scored the equalizer, the stadium came alive again. That released a lot of energy. the belief was there the whole time.“

Eta praises Livan Burcu

“I’m happy for him,” Eta said of the scoring debutant. “He showed that he can be there exactly for these moments. He has good finishing quality in the final third. He took control of the game and confirmed what he’s shown in training.“

GGFN | Peter Weis