For the game against Union, there were five changes made to the starting XI. As suspected and to nobody’s surprise, Maximilian Eggestein was involved in the midfield from the off after missing the Europa League match against KRC Genk earlier in the week due to suspension. At left-back, Jordy Makengo lined up behind Derry Scherhant, who began on the left wing. Lucas Höler and Cyriaque Irié also started for Freiburg.

SC found themselves on the back foot in the opening stages of the encounter. This was because the away side, who had only won one of their previous ten matches, began the game with confidence and had a couple of early chances. Derrick Köhn tested Noah Atubolu from range, before Derry Scherhant made a crucial intervention to nip the second attack in the bud.

Promising start for Freiburg

Around the quarter-of-an-hour mark, SCF had their first opportunities to take the lead, but both Eggestein (12’) and Irié’s (15’) long-range efforts flew over the bar. That being said, the shots marked the beginning of a promising passage of play for Freiburg’s attack. With 20 minutes on the clock, it was Eggestein again to threaten, as he got a shot off from 16 yards out. Two minutes later, Scherhant tried his luck from 18 yards out, but Union keeper Matheo Raab was in the right place at the right time to make the stop.

With just under 70% possession, SC had started to set the tone by this point. The side from the capital, who sat eleventh in the table going into the game, let the opposition have the ball, sitting back deep within their own half. Time and again, Freiburg’s dominance down the flanks led to danger in the Union penalty area but didn’t result in shots on goal. Despite their defensive set-up, the Eisernen also had their attacking moments, just after the half-an-hour mark, for example, when Livan Burcu tried his luck from a threatening position (31’).

A pair of free-kick chances

The second half began with a free kick on the edge of the box and directly in front of the visitors’ goal. Last weekend, Leverkusen’s Alejandro Grimaldo showed the Freiburg fans how it was done with a free kick from a similar position. Scherhant’s effort against Union wasn’t bad but ended up flying over the crossbar and out for a goal kick (53’).

After 50 minutes had gone by, Berlin’s physicality started to become increasingly apparent – after all, Union are one of the teams who commit the most fouls in the league. Referee Sven Jablonski was forced to interrupt the action on multiple occasions, but SC remained mostly unfazed. “We dealt well with the challenges in what was a hard-fought encounter,” said SCF head coachJulian Schuster after the final whistle. In spite of this, his team continued to search for an opener. Philipp Treu’s volley went well over (59’), before Johan Manzambi saw his shot blocked in the box by an opposition defender (62’).

SC combined well in the final third and looked good going forward up until they reached Union’s penalty area, where they would be too passive or end up lacking the final pass. Union, who continued to have very little say in proceedings, had a couple of opportunities around the 70th minute, though neither posed too much of a threat. Alex Kral put Atubolu to the test from seven yards out, while Burcu’s free-kick from the edge of the box was off-target.

Sucker punch from Union

Shortly before the nine minutes of added time, which was due to a lengthy stoppage after a head collison between Igor Matanoviv and Danilho Doekhi, Eggestein was presented with another opportunity to give his side the lead, but Raab denied the midfielder once again. At the other end of the pitch, the shot-stopper’s opposite number was powerless, as a moment of individual brilliance led to the only goal of the afternoon for Union. Former Freiburg player Jeong was left with too much space on the edge of the box, managed to get a shot off and slotted the ball past Atubolu and into the corner to make it 1-0 (90+2’).

After that, Union keeper Raab required treatment, meaning the game was extended by a further five minutes. In this time, Niklas Beste produced a sublime curling effort, which Raab managed to tip away from danger. It ended up being the last chance of the game, with Jeong’s goal bringing Freiburg’s impressive unbeaten streak at home to an end. Still, Schuster took positives from the past couple of games. “We played patiently today – we had moments, where we were threatening in and around the box. In the second half, we tried to be direct, but Berlin kept things really tight. We’re lost twice in a row now, which is very disappointing for the moment. That being said, we’re still setting ourselves big goals for this season and, as a team, we’re becoming even closer.”

Photo: Stephan Eckenfel