Union Berlin vs Borussia Mönchengladbach Match Recap - Oct 17, 2025

Doekhi Double Powers Union Berlin Past Gladbach, Lifting Spirits and Standing Amid Bundesliga Struggles

On a crisp Berlin night that demanded resolve as much as talent, Union Berlin found both in ample supply, racing past a beleaguered Borussia Mönchengladbach side, 3-1, to climb out of their own early-season malaise and into midtable relevance. In a league campaign where both clubs entered desperate for traction, Danilho Doekhi’s clinical brace in the opening half-hour set the tone, while Rani Khedira’s late punctuation mark sent a raucous Stadion An der Alten Försterei into deserved celebration.

Union, battered by inconsistency and bruised egos after three defeats from five, seized the initiative before Gladbach could draw breath. The home fans had scarcely settled when Doekhi, rising above defenders as if untouched by gravity, turned in the opener in the third minute—an emphatic header that channeled both the club’s set-piece prowess and the urgency of their predicament.

The first goal might have unsettled a more confident side, but Gladbach have had little to celebrate this autumn. Winless in six and rooted uncomfortably near the Bundesliga basement, they responded with admirable intent but soon found themselves further adrift. In the 26th minute, Doekhi again ghosted into the box and, with defenders scrambling, nodded home his second—an almost carbon copy of his opener. The 26-year-old Dutchman, more typically the last bulwark in defense, tonight played the unlikely predator, his brace doubling his season’s tally and igniting the terraces.

For moments after, Union looked likely to turn the contest into a rout, exploiting Gladbach’s loose marking and the uncertainty that has dogged visitors’ back line all season. Yet a match that had threatened to become one-sided regained a measure of intrigue, and it was Gladbach’s mainstay, Haris Tabaković, who threw the visitors a lifeline. The Swiss striker, as he has been so often in this campaign’s few bright moments, timed his run perfectly to sweep home in the 33rd minute, halving the deficit against the run of play.

Tabaković’s goal, his third in as many league matches, briefly flickered hope for Gladbach. A side haunted by second-half collapses—now with 14 goals conceded through six matches—the visitors pressed forward in search of parity. The flow became more fractured, the tackles sharper; but Union, buoyed by home support and a rare lead, managed the occasion with a maturity sometimes lacking in recent weeks.

Gladbach’s attempts to force an equalizer left them increasingly open at the back, and with less than 10 minutes to play, Union capitalized. Rani Khedira, whose industry in midfield had stifled Gladbach’s rhythm all evening, surged forward in the 81st minute to slot home Union’s third. The goal was met with catharsis in the stands—a release from the anxiety of dropped points and squandered leads that have marred the Iron Ones’ young season.

For Union Berlin, this was more than a routine home win. October’s prior results, a dispiriting 0-2 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen and a stale scoreless draw at home to Hamburger SV, had sent warning signals up and down the Alte Försterei. Even their thrilling, six-goal spectacle at Frankfurt could not disguise defensive frailties or patchwork attacking shape. This win, built on early set-piece precision and late-game discipline, was more measured—and, perhaps, more sustainable.

The three points lift Union to 13th in the table on seven points, one shy of the league’s crowded midfield, and offer a dose of momentum for a side whose Champions League adventure last season now seems a distant memory. The win also marks a return to form against Gladbach, a club they have sparred with regularly since rising to the Bundesliga, but rarely so authoritatively.

Gladbach, meanwhile, can draw little comfort from another dispiriting away trip. Still without a victory, and now with three defeats from six, they are anchored perilously in 17th, only goal difference separating them from outright last. Their run of five matches without victory, punctuated only by draws at Leverkusen and against Freiburg, has left new manager and supporters alike searching for answers. Tabaković’s consistent output is a rare bright spot, but it is faint consolation on nights like this.

Despite flashes of promise, Gladbach’s defensive frailties remain glaring. Six goals shipped to Frankfurt in late September, four to Bremen just before, and now three more tonight underline a pattern that cannot be solved by attacking flourishes alone.

The air around Köpenick, at least tonight, is lighter. For Union, the road ahead brings hope—and the promise, however faint, of upward mobility in a league table already stratifying into haves and have-nots. Gladbach, for their part, must seek not just points but belief, lest a winless autumn drift into a winter of deeper discontent.

As the final whistle sounded, the narrative for both sides was written less by statistics than by spirit. Union’s resilience, embodied by Doekhi’s timely intervention and Khedira’s late strike, offers a template for recovery. For Gladbach, the mirror reflects a different challenge: one not just of goals, but of soul.