Bayern made a sluggish start to proceedings in the capital, perhaps feeling the effects of their energy-sapping win with 10 men in Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League away clash against Paris Saint-Germain.
The Bavarians were fortunate not to go a goal down in the opening 10 minutes after Ilyas Ansah saw his headed effort chalked off for offside. However, the technology could not save Bayern and Manuel Neuer when the goalkeeper made a glaring mistake for Union’s opener just before the half-hour mark.
The experienced shot-stopper looked set to gather Danilho Doekhi’s low shot from Janik Haberer’s corner, only for it to slip through his grasp and creep over the line.
After making a surprising error, Neuer would have been the most relieved individual in the Stadion An der Alten Försterei when Luis Diaz’s piece of brilliance pulled Bayern level before the break.
The former Liverpool forward showed great persistence to prevent the ball from drifting out for a goal kick, before chopping it past Haberer and whipping a fierce strike past Frederik Ronnow from the narrowest of angles.
Buoyed by their equaliser, Bayern threatened to snatch a half-time lead, as Diaz steered the ball wide shortly before Harry Kane tapped home from an offside position.
Vincent Kompany’s charges continued to push forward after the restart, with Michael Olise forcing Ronnow to get down low at his near post to keep his side on level terms.
Ronnow’s intervention proved to be crucial as Union retook the lead against the run of play with less than 10 minutes remaining of normal time. Doekhi took full advantage of Kane’s poor defensive header from a free-kick to stroke a left-foot shot into the bottom corner.
However, there was still time for Kane to make amends for his mistake, making the perfect run to head in from Tom Bischof’s inviting cross to net his 13th league goal of the season and salvage a point.
While they may have lost their 100% record, Bayern will head into the international break with a six-point lead at the top, while Steffen Baumgart’s side finish the day in 10th.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Danilho Doekhi (Union Berlin)
