SC Freiburg celebrated an easy win against FC Utrecht and is doing well in the Europa League table. Vincenzo Grifo had an outstanding evening.
The first goal that Yuito Suzuki scored was initiated by Vincenzo Grifo with a perfect pass (20th minute), he scored the second with a dream free kick himself (45th): The Freiburg midfielder was the outstanding player in the sports club’s 2-0 (2-0) win against FC Utrecht. In front of the home crowd in the Europa-Park Stadium, coach Julian Schuster’s team allowed almost nothing to happen and are in the Europa League table after the victory Basel (2:1) and that Draw in Bologna (1:1) in a promising fifth place.
“If it works, it works,” Grifo told SWR Sport after the game. “I thought we played an incredibly good first half.” Even though Utrecht appeared stronger in the second half, in the end it was a very deserved win.
Suzuki puts Freiburg in the lead
The sports club dominated the game from the start, but initially had no clear chances to score. In the 20th minute, Vincenzo Grifo found Christian Günter with a brilliant pass on the left side. The full-back passed almost from the baseline back into the penalty area, where Suzuki hit the ball under the crossbar from about nine meters to take the lead.
Shortly afterwards, Suzuki, who had replaced Lucas Höler in the team, almost made it 2-0. Vasilis Barkas was just able to direct his shot from 18 meters over the crossbar (26′). However, the Dutch goalkeeper would have been powerless to counter Johan Manzambi’s attempt with his left foot. Manzambi broke through with a dance in the penalty area, but only hit the crossbar, from where the ball bounced against the post and then into the field.
Grifo with a free kick goal
Even before the break, Freiburg’s keen players increased the score. Grifo curled a free kick from a central position over the wall into the right corner (45th). “Somehow it worked really well, I caught the ball well and had a good move behind it,” Grifo said later. It was the end of a first half in which the sports club had everything under control. There was little to see from the guests, who started the Europa League with two defeats (0-1 against Lyon, 0-1 against Bergen).
Freiburg controlled, Utrecht slightly improved
After half-time, Freiburg slowed down a few gears, Utrecht, with star striker Sébastien Haller, showed a slight improvement in their play. Nevertheless, the SC was closer to making it 3-0 than the guests were to scoring the next goal. Maximilian Eggestein had one of the greatest opportunities when he outplayed his opponent in the penalty area in the 59th minute, but was denied from a few meters by the onrushing Barkas. The game didn’t offer any major highlights in the second half, it remained a deserved 2-0.
SC Freiburg’s next games
The Freiburg team will be guests at OGC Nice on the next Europa League match day (November 6th, 6:45 p.m.). In the Bundesliga, SC will play at Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Sunday (October 26th, 3:30 p.m.).
Broadcast on Friday, October 24th, 2025 at 6:00 a.m., SWR Aktuell in the morning, SWR Aktuell
