Former West Ham United misfit Alex Kral is making his mark in the Champions League these days with an assist for Union Berlin in their group-stage clash against Braga.
Unfortunately for the one-time West Ham loanee, however, that well-placed pass to set up Sheraldo Becker’s first-half opener was rendered little more than a plot point in a wider – and very dramatic – story.
That Becker finish, assisted beautifully by an inch-perfect Alex Kral through ball, was built upon just seven minutes later. The same player doubling Union’s lead. A stunning Braga fightback – Andre Castro turning the game around in the 94th minute – undermined the the Union fairytale with a dose of the harshest reality, Urs Fischer’s side suffering stoppage-time heartbreak a fortnight after Jude Bellingham netted a 94th minute decider of his own at the Santiago Bernebau.
West Ham flop Alex Kral shines in Champions League
“We were doing well until (the Braga comeback),” Fishcer sighs, via iSPORT. “Braga had phases where they pushed us, but they weren’t dangerous. And then we concede at the end and at the beginning of the halves.
“Losing 3-2 is, of course, very bitter. It accurately describes the situation we are in now. We should have scored the third goal. When you have three chances like that, you have to convert at least one of them, and that didn’t happen.
“At this level, there will simply be a punishment for it.”
Union Berlin suffer heartbreak again
From a personal perspective, however, a Champions League assist for Alex Kral felt like an ‘exercising the demons’ sort of moment for a poodle-haired midfielder who has endured a difficult time of late.
Kral joined Union Berlin over the summer after suffering relegation with Schalke in 2022/23. The Czech Republic international played only one minute of Premier League football, meanwhile, during the most forgettable of West Ham loan spells in the previous campaign.
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