In temperatures just above freezing, SC made a sluggish start and the first chances of the match fell to the visitors. After a misplaced touch in the Freiburg back line, Linton Maina found plenty of space on the left, drove into the penalty area but failed to trouble Noah Atubolu with his low shot (2’). The next opening three minutes later was more dangerous, with Marius Bülter narrowly missing the target from 20 yards.

After ten minutes, Köln were rewarded for their strong opening. Once again it was Maina who had time and space and looked for Ragnar Ache with a low cross from the left. Max Rosenfelder got to the ball ahead of the Köln striker and attempted to clear, but miscued and sent the ball into the back of his own net, leaving Atubolu with no chance. “We conceded the first goal, but the team’s reaction and the way they shook it off was impressive,” Julian Schuster said after the match.

The own goal acted as a wake-up call for Freiburg. Just a minute later, the hosts were level. Yuito Suzuki slipped a perfectly weighted through ball into the path of the Derry Scherhant, who calmly lifted the ball over the onrushing Marvin Schwäbe to make it 1-1.

Freiburg had made just one change to the starting XI compared to the midweek 1-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEFA Europa League. Lukas Kübler came in for Christian Günter, with Philipp Treu switching to left-back. Kübler was close to putting the home side into lead after 20 minutes, but Igor Matanović missed his cross from the right by inches.

Matanović strikes just before the break

After a frenetic opening, the tempo dipped midway through the first half. It took until the 37th minute for Atubolu to be tested again, as Maina forced him into a save from a first-time effort following a Köln throw-in. Some of the crowd in the sold-out Europa-Park Stadion were already heading for refreshments when Niklas Beste swung in another cross. Matanović’s header initially struck Matthias Ginter, but the ball fell back kindly for the striker, who tucked it home from close range to put Freiburg ahead at the break (44’). It was the Croatia international’s fourth competitive goal of the calendar year.

The second half began much like the first, with two early attempts from the visitors. Both times Ache got on the end of headers, and on both occasions Atubolu was untroubled (46’, 47’). Once again, Bülter popped up with a more threatening effort two minutes later, but Treu threw himself in the way to block the short at the last moment. Shortly afterwards, Kübler pulled up after a sprint and was forced off with a thigh problem. Christian Günter replaced him (55’), with Treu switching sides again.

Schwäbe denies Matanović

SC then grew into the game and had a big chance to extend their lead after 65 minutes. Following excellent work from Suzuki, Matanović’s effort struck the outstretched arm of Alessio Castro-Montes and referee Bastian Dankert immediately pointed to the spot. However, Schwäbe denied Matanović from the penalty, keeping Köln in the contest.

Effzeh refused to give up, with coach Lukas Kwasniok introducing the likes of Said El Mala in the closing stages. Freiburg were now largely occupied defensively and looked to counter. In the 79th minute, Beste tested Schwäbe with a powerful shot from 25 yards after one such breakaway. Soon after, El Mala sent a free-kick from just outside the box well over the bar (83’).

The best chance of the closing minutes, though, fell to Freiburg. Substitute Lucas Höler met a Beste corner with a diving header, but once again Schwäbe reacted superbly to keep the score at 2-1. “It would have been nice to make it 3-1. We didn’t, so then you have to defend with passion,” Schuster summed up at the press conference. “It was very uncomfortable against a good opponent.”

The final whistle confirmed a home win that sees Freiburg move past Eintracht Frankfurt into seventh place and extend their unbeaten home run in all competitions to 12 matches. Next up for Schuster’s side is the UEFA Europa League, with the final matchday of the league phase away at Lille on Thursday at 21:00 CET.

Photo: Achim Keller