It was Freiburg’s substitutes who made the difference in Augsburg on Saturday afternoon. Keisuke Goto, Igor Matanovic, Vincenzo Grifo and Cyriaque Irié all played their part in a late but ultimately deserved victory over FCA. “We told the lads last night that there was a good chance their moment would come today. It was important that they were mentally ready for it. That was the key today,” said head coach Julian Schuster, delighted with the contributions of his substitutes.

As in the midweek cup victory over VfL Wolfsburg, Freiburg made seven changes to their starting XI. Derry Scherhant and Jordy Makengo, both of whom had been carrying knocks recently, replaced Grifo and Christian Günter. Mio Backhaus, Lukas Kübler, Philipp Lienhart, Niklas Beste and Lucas Höler also came into the side in place of Florian Müller, Philipp Treu, Max Rosenfelder, Irié and Matanovic.

Goto, who had scored twice in the cup, was also back on the bench and watched his teammates make a bright start at the sold-out WWK Arena. Just 60 seconds after kick-off, Yuito Suzuki was played through down the inside-right channel. The Augsburg defence only just managed to cut out his pass towards Höler, who was waiting completely unmarked in front of goal. A few minutes later, Scherhant went close to giving the visitors the lead with a deflected curling effort.

Gregoritsch scores against his former club

Augsburg head coach Manuel Baum had made four changes to his starting XI following the cup victory over SG Sonnenhof Großaspach that secured their place in the round of 16. His side initially adopted a cautious approach, although Michael Gregoritsch did register an early attempt on goal with a long-range shot that lacked the accuracy to trouble Backhaus (10’).

Gregoritsch, one of three former Freiburg players on the pitch alongside Yannik Keitel and Robin Fellhauer, was also the man who put Augsburg ahead after 18 minutes. A cross from the left picked out the completely unmarked Austrian, who beat Backhaus with a first-time finish from seven metres out.

As they have so often in recent weeks, Freiburg responded well to falling behind, sticking to their approach and looking for gaps in the Augsburg defence. Despite SC’s dominance, however, it was the hosts who created the next big chance. Bayern loanee Arijon Ibrahimović picked out Gregoritsch with a pass from the byline, but Backhaus managed to keep out the striker’s shot on the turn (32’).

Freiburg struggle to find a way through

For all their possession, Freiburg lacked a cutting edge in the first half. Increasingly sloppy passing and cheap turnovers also disrupted their play, and the score remained unchanged heading into the break.

Matanovic replaced Höler at half time, and SC began the second half on the front foot against an Augsburg side sitting deep. Matthias Ginter sent a looping header towards goal early on (47’), while at the other end, Ibrahimović curled an effort from outside the box narrowly wide of Backhaus’ goal (57’).

With half an hour remaining, the game had lost much of its rhythm on a difficult Augsburg pitch. Freiburg were struggling to find ideas or move the ball quickly enough in their build-up play, while the hosts offered little going forward beyond the occasional counterattack.

Substitutes turn the game around

Freiburg’s equaliser therefore came almost out of nowhere. Goto, who had only just come off the bench, started the move with a clever through ball. Yannik Engelhardt then poked the ball into the path of Matanovic, who fired an unstoppable shot from the edge of the penalty area to make it 1-1 (65’).

The celebrations in the lively away end were dampened shortly afterwards when Freiburg were forced into an injury-related substitution. As in the midweek cup tie, it was a right-back who had to leave the pitch, with Kübler unable to continue after receiving treatment. Rosenfelder came on to replace his injured teammate.

Freiburg’s substitutes were once again at the heart of the action in the closing stages. Grifo found himself in plenty of space on the left and delivered a beautifully weighted cross towards the far post, where fellow substitute Irié rose above his marker to head home from close range (85’).

Freiburg’s 2-1 lead was never seriously threatened before the final whistle. Augsburg resorted to sending high balls into the box, but the SC defence stood firm, clearing their lines, winning their aerial battles and maintaining a compact shape. When referee Christian Dingert blew for full time, the players and travelling supporters celebrated a hard-fought three points. “We found it difficult for long periods today against a very dangerous opponent. That makes us all the happier to have won,” Schuster said after the game.

Photo: Achim Keller