Goalkeeper makes crucial save with an injured hand to give Union Berlin a Bundesliga win

Goalkeeper makes crucial save with an injured hand to give Union Berlin a Bundesliga win | iNFOnews.ca
Union Berlin goalkeeper Matheo Raab, center, celebrates with his teammates after winning a German Bundesliga soccer match against SC Freiburg in Freiburg, Germany, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Silas Stein/dpa via AP)

FREIBURG, Germany (AP) — Union Berlin’s stand-in goalkeeper Matheo Raab made a last-minute diving save with his injured right hand on his top-division debut to ensure his team held on for a 1-0 win at Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Union had already used all its substitutions when Raab injured his hand in a collision with Freiburg’s Bruno Ogbus while diving to punch away a high ball in added time.

“In that moment I only felt pain,” Raab told broadcaster DAZN. “We couldn’t make any more changes and I wanted to somehow play out those last few minutes. There’s nothing you can do but grit your teeth, somehow get the glove back on and get this thing done.”

Raab used the same hand for an acrobatic diving save to keep out Niklas Beste’s curling shot and ensure Union took the win. Jeong Woo-yeong had put the Berlin team in the lead with a low shot earlier in added time.

An injury to regular starter Frederik Ronnow meant Raab was playing in the Bundesliga for the first time since arriving at Union in July. He said he powered through with adrenaline. “I waited so long for this and didn’t want it taken away.”

Union rose two places to ninth, one place behind Freiburg.

Also Sunday, Deniz Undav scored for the fifth Bundesliga game in a row as a goalkeeping blunder handed Stuttgart a 1-0 win over Leipzig to strengthen its push to qualify for the Champions League.

Leipzig goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt was under no real pressure in the 56th minute when he passed the ball straight to Stuttgart’s Chris Führich, who played in Undav to score his 16th league goal of the season, more than any other player in the league except Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane.

Stuttgart was fortunate to hold on in added time when Willi Orban was unmarked for a header which beat goalkeeper Alexander Nübel but bounced back off the post before being cleared.

Stuttgart tightened its hold on a Champions League qualifying spot in fourth, opening up a three-point gap to Leipzig in fifth. Stuttgart hasn’t lost in five league games.

Mainz edged away from the relegation fight and up to 13th with a 2-0 win at Werder Bremen. Mainz scored early in each half with Paul Nebel’s diving header and Lee Jae-song’s close-range finish from a low cross. Bremen is 15th.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Goalkeeper makes crucial save with an injured hand to give Union Berlin a Bundesliga win | iNFOnews.ca
Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav, right, celebrates with teammate Bilal El Khannouss after scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday March 15, 2026. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)
Goalkeeper makes crucial save with an injured hand to give Union Berlin a Bundesliga win | iNFOnews.ca
Mainz’ scorer Jae-sung Lee and his teammates celebrate their side’s second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Werder Bremen and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Bremen, Germany, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Carmen Jaspersen/dpa via AP)

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Create a free account

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

Related Articles