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Union Berlin coach Marie-Louise Eta watches from the sideline during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas\/dpa via AP)<\/p>\n
Jan Woitas\/AP<\/p>\n
Leipzig’s Ridle Baku, left, dribbles as Union Berlin’s Janik Haberer, center, and Diogo Leite defend during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas\/dpa via AP)<\/p>\n
Jan Woitas\/AP<\/p>\n
RB Leipzig’s Romulo celebrates scoring a goal during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas\/dpa via AP)<\/p>\n
Jan Woitas\/AP<\/p>\n
RB Leipzig’s Max Finkgr\u00e4fe celebrates after scoring a goal during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas\/dpa via AP)<\/p>\n
Jan Woitas\/AP<\/p>\n
Union Berlin supporters hold up scarves and cheer during a Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Leipzig, Germany. (Jan Woitas\/dpa via AP)<\/p>\n
Jan Woitas\/AP<\/p>\n
BERLIN (AP) \u2014 After being accused of sexism for a social media post, Leipzig defeated Union Berlin 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Friday and dealt coach Marie-Louise Eta her second defeat in as many games in charge.<\/p>\n
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Max Finkgr\u00e4fe, Romulo and Ridle Baku scored for Leipzig to consolidate third place and move closer to Champions League qualification after five straight wins.<\/p>\n
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Eta made her debut as the first female coach in the Bundesliga \u2014 or any of the top divisions in Europe\u2019s big five men\u2019s leagues \u2014 last weekend in a 2-1 loss at home to relegation-threatened Wolfsburg.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s been the subject of a torrent of sexist abuse on social media and Leipzig was accused of joining in on Thursday when it responded to a post on X from Union saying it was a \u201cnice city\u201d with photos of Eta posing with former Leipzig coach Marco Rose and former players Dominik Szoboszlai and Emil Forsberg with the words, \u201cYour head coach didn\u2019t just find the city pretty nice…\u201d<\/p>\n
The photos were from Eta\u2019s internship at Leipzig in 2022, and Eta initially posted them herself on Instagram on Jan. 1, 2023.<\/p>\n
Eta, who was Union\u2019s men\u2019s under-19s coach, was appointed head coach for the last five games of the season to secure Bundesliga survival. Union, which is six points above the relegation zone before the rest of the 31st round, next faces Cologne, Mainz and Augsburg.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe knew it would continue to be a tough path ahead, that we couldn\u2019t expect to turn everything around overnight,\u201d Eta said. \u201cSo I\u2019m feeling positive for now, because there were things today that were OK, things that were good, and we\u2019ll work on those. Next up is Cologne at home, where we want to get the three points.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silent start<\/p>\n
As they always do whenever their team plays in Leipzig against the Red Bull-backed club, Union\u2019s fans refrained from singing and chanting for the first 15 minutes to protest against its existence. They see it as a manufactured endeavor with marketing as its raison d\u2019\u00eatre after it was formed and bankrolled by the energy drinks giant in 2009.<\/p>\n
They watched in silence as Leipzig made an ominous start. The home team should have scored more with Union goalkeeper Frederik R\u00f8nnow denying Antonio Nusa and Brazilian forward Romulo, and Andras Sch\u00e4fer clearing the rebound from the latter off the line.<\/p>\n
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Finkgr\u00e4fe opened the scoring in the 22nd minute \u2014 when the Union fans were in full voice \u2014 by thumping Leopold Querfeld\u2019s attempted headed clearance inside the right post.<\/p>\n
Romulo shrugged off Querfeld\u2019s weak challenge to score three minutes later, and Union suffered another blow when R\u00f8nnow had to go off injured. The Danish goalkeeper signaled he couldn\u2019t continue after a kickout. Carl Klaus replaced him for his Bundesliga debut at 32 years of age.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s special,\u201d said Klaus, who had to react straight away to deflect Christoph Baumgartner\u2019s header against the crossbar, then fished another near-goal off and over the bar.<\/p>\n
Oliver Burke should have scored before the break with Union\u2019s only chance of the half when he was through after a defensive mistake, but failed to get past Leipzig \u2019keeper Maarten Vandevoordt.<\/p>\n
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Though her team improved after the break, Eta made three changes around the hour mark, only for Yan Diomande to set up Baku for the third.<\/p>\n
Danilho Doekhi scored Union\u2019s consolation with a header to a corner in the 77th, and substitute Ilyas Ansah thought he scored another in stoppage time only to have it ruled out for offside.<\/p>\n
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