"We wanted to play high up the pitch, which we did,” reflected head coach Christian Streich at full time. "The space was there, but we couldn’t find it because we didn’t play well enough. To make it even worse, we defended really badly on two occasions. We let the opponents run straight through us. The fact it was 2-0 after 20 minutes played right into Hertha’s hands. The second half was good, but we lacked a clinical edge. It was a bit disappointing, because the situation was good for us without any real pressure" Freiburg remain ninth in the table on 41 points, while the win takes Hertha up to 14th on 30. 

Gulde and Santamaria back in the team

Streich made two changes from the team that drew 1-1 against TSG Hoffenheim 12 days ago. Baptise Santamaria returned from suspension in place of Yannik Keitel, while Manuel Gulde replaced Dominik Heintz in central defence. Former SCF duo Vladimir Darida and Alexander Schwolow both started in a Hertha side that had nine changes from their draw in Mainz on Monday. 

Double setback early on

Freiburg started well, forcing Hertha back into their own half and testing their range early when Lucas Höler fired narrowly wide from following whipped in free kick (7’). 

The hosts quickly reacted to the early wake-up call and seized the initiative by taking the lead themselves at the other end through Krzysztof Piatek (13'). Florian Müller saved the initial effort from Jordan Torunarigha but was helpless to deny the Poland international pouncing on the rebound. 

Freiburg almost hit back instantly. Keven Schlotterbeck regained possession and played a quick ball forward to Roland Sallai, whose first-time effort from a tight angle rattled the post and out for a goal kick (16'). 

Bolstered by their early goal, Hertha continued to carry possession higher up the pitch and it wasn’t long before their efforts were rewarded with a second goal; Radonjic dancing past Lienhart before delivering a cross into the box for an unmarked Peter Pekarik to head the ball in at the back post (22’). 

Hertha protected their lead going into the break, with only a powerful Ermedin Demirovic effort coming close to causing any problems (42’). 

Tactical and personnel changes at the break

Streich switched to a 4-4-2 system at the break and introduced two fresh faces for the second half: Vincenzo Grifo and Keitel replacing Schlotterbeck and Santamaría. 

The changes made an impact, as Freiburg showed significantly more attacking intent and looked the likelier side to score the game’s third goal. Schwolow got down well to keep out Nicolas Höfler’s headed attempted (48’), while Höler also fired narrowly off target following a clever ball through from captain Christian Günter (53’). 

Nils Petersen was introduced for Höler in an attempt to add more fresh blood in the SCF attack and it was the experienced forward who had the visitor’s best chance of scoring in the closing stages. Alas, his close-range effort flew over the crossbar without finding the target. Nemanja Radonjic (85’) put any doubts of a Hertha victory to bed with a late strike (85’) to make it 3-0.

Freiburg have the chance to put their Berlin misery behind them in just three days when they travel to another side desperately struggling against relegation: 1. FC Köln (13:30 CEST).