1. FC Union Berlin remain after unbeaten in 2017 after beating a lacklustre 1860 Munich at the Alte Försterei.

Goals in each half from Steven Skrzybski and Simon Hedlund earned them a victory in a game that they completely dominated.

They stay third and are now level on points with Hannover 96, who play on Sunday, albeit just behind them on goal difference.

Union aiming to consolidate third

Union moved back into the 2. Bundesliga top three following their 2-1 win at struggling Karlsruher SC last weekend. They made two changes though, with Michael Parensen replacing Kristian Pedersen and skipper Felix Kroos returning in place of Eroll Zelnullahu.

1860 had won three of their four previous games under new coach Vítor Pereira, with the third of those wins coming against 1. FC Nürnberg on Monday night, which put them seven points clear of the bottom four. They remained unchanged.

Union beat a very different looking 1860 at the Allianz Arena in mid-September, with Kenny Prince Redondo scoring the winner just before half-time after Michael Liendl had cancelled out Skrzybski’s opener.

Skrzybski cashes in on Union dominance

It would prove to be a forgettable first half for the visitors. They had just one attempt, and that came in the first minute, when Abdoulaye Ba shot well over Jacob Busk’s goal.

It was otherwise one-way traffic in favour of the hosts. Sebastian Polter, after combining with Simon Hedlund, had an early chance go wide, as did Kroos, who shot across goal after Skrzybski did well to find him as he fell to the ground.

Die Löwen did have a better spell halfway through the first 45 minutes, but they failed to create any chances. At the other end, Toni Leistner went close but was just over the bar with his attempt on the half volley.

Skrzybski would eventually make their dominance count. Christopher Trimmel found Parensen, who had his shot blocked, however the ball came back to Skrzybski, who fired in his eighth goal of the season.

For a moment just before the break it looked like they would have a chance for a second. Hedlund went down in the box, supposedly due to a foul from Maximilian Wittek, but the referee didn’t buy, and correctly booked him for diving.

Hedlund completesd the win

The second half started slowly for both sides, with 1860 looking no closer to an equaliser. Pereira brought on Stefan Aigner and Ivica Olic to try to salvage something from the game, but before long it would be 2-0.

Although Kroos’s corner came to little, Union kept it out on the right wing, with Polter crossing the ball in for Hedlund at the far post. It was the simplest of finishes for the Swede.

Olic had his first sight of goal afterwards after he was found by Aigner, but Trimmel put in a vital interception. Union then nearly scored again a minute later, when Skrzybski played through Hedlung, however his shot was saved by Stefan Ortega, before Skrzybski was blocked on the rebound too and then Polter fired over.

The best chance for the visitors came with 14 minutes remaining. Sebastian Boenisch connected sweetly with a ball coming from outside the box, with which he struck the bar.

The closest the hosts came again was when Raffael Korte, playing for the first time since rupturing his cruciate ligament last season, had his strike tipped over by Ortega after excellently shaking off Boenisch. A third goal would have taken them above Hannover, but they were happy enough with the result.