Freiburg’s match against Borussia was their second consecutive home game in the league, with a DFB-Pokal semi-final in Hamburg sandwiched in between the two. The team were welcomed into the Europa-Park Stadion to chants of “Berlin, Berlin, we’re going to Berlin.” Nils Petersen, who scored in the cup semi-final, missed today’s game due to illness, and Ermedin Demirovic took his place in the starting XI. Lukas Kübler didn’t feature in midweek but made his return to the line-up as Jonathan Schmid was named on the bench.

With just one minute on the clock, Nico Schlotterbeck misread the flight of a long ball which allowed the guests the chance to cross the ball into the box – a cross which made contact with a Freiburg hand and a VAR check for a potential penalty. After referee Benjamin Brand consulted the pitchside screen, he awarded a penalty to Mönchengladbach, which was converted by Ramy Bensebaini, giving them the lead in the third minute. An unfortunate start for SCF, who then tried to gain control of the game. Borussia did well to shut down spaces, however, and got up early to break up the hosts’ build-up play.

Gladbach didn’t allow Freiburg much room

After getting their first chance through Kübler, whose shot from a free-kick situation on the right-hand side of the pitch was saved by Yann Sommer, Freiburg conceded once again. Breel Embolo got on the end of a long ball, beating Nico Schlotterbeck to it in the process, and finished past Mark Flekken in a one-on-one situation (13’). At the other end, Grifo’s effort was saved by Sommer as he got a strong hand behind the Italian’s attempt. Freiburg worked hard to get back into it and had the full support of the fans behind them, who never stopped cheering for a moment. The away side began to sit deeper in their own half and didn’t create much after the half-hour mark, instead looking for opportunities on the counter-attack. Embolo had a good chance to make it three in the 27th minute, with his shot going just centimetres wide of the post.

It was also just a few centimetres which stood between Philipp Lienhart’s headed effort and the goal as he got on the end of an SCF corner. Freiburg were playing well, but with a two-goal lead, Adi Hütter’s side were able to concentrate on their defensive shape and didn’t allow SC much space in front of goal. Gladbach defended Freiburg’s set-pieces well for the rest of the half, as Christian Günter & Co. were unable to find a way to get a goal back.

Deficit halved early in the second half, then a Gladbach equaliser late in the half

Lucas Höler and Noah Weißhaupt were brought on for the start of the second half, and Freiburg made a good start to this period and got an early reward. SC won a penalty following a foul on Nicolas Höfler, which was confirmed by the video assistant. Grifo took this chance to make it 2-1(49’). Weißhaupt’s game only lasted until the 54th minute, however, as he fell awkwardly on his shoulder after a foot race with a Gladbach player and was unable to continue.

The game carried on, though, and Freiburg’s high-pressing, brave approach was rewarded. Günter’s 61st–minute effort from the left-hand side was powerful. His drilled shot gave Yann Sommer no chance and the scores were now level. SC remained the only side interested in making something happen. Spurred on by their equaliser and by the fans, they continued to attack. Maximilian Eggestein’s first-time shot from 18 metres was saved by Sommer (66’), and Gladbach were under serious pressure during this phase of the game.

A thrilling game had now developed as SC completed their comeback in the 80th minute and put a poor start to the game behind them. Lienhart gave the home side the lead, heading home from close range past Sommer following Günter’s corner. “Until the last minute of the game, it was the perfect week,” commented captain Günter after the game. It really was perfect until the 93rd minute when Gladbach got a final chance on goal, and second-half substitute Lars Stindl headed past Flekken to make it 3-3. “It was a bitter goal to concede. It made it feel like we’d let a 3-2 lead slip to 3-3, not that we’d rescued a 3-3 draw from being 2-0 down,” added Günter. Head coach Christian Streich shared this sentiment, but first paid credit to his team: “The team played excellently today. Their performance and mentality were outstanding, and the fans really helped us too. However, the lads are disappointed and are displeased with the result. Gladbach’s efficiency in front of goal was simply better than ours.”

Photo: Achim Keller