Goal in added time
©IMAGO
SC Freiburg suffered a last-second defeat in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final against Portuguese representatives Sporting Braga. After goals from Demir Ege Tıknaz (8th) and Vincenzo Grifo (16th), it looked like a draw for a long time, but Mario Dorgeles scored shortly before the final whistle. In injury time of the first half, Noah Atubolu became a hero when he saved a penalty from former Schalke player Rodrigo Zalazar.
The Freiburg team had recently gained their self-confidence: In the quarter-finals against Celta Vigo, coach Julian Schuster’s team asserted itself confidently (3:0 and 3:1). As a result, according to captain Christian Günter, Freiburg had “tasted blood”. The full-back said on RTL that they “definitely want to continue writing the fairy tale.” With Eintracht Frankfurt, only one German team has ever won the successor competition to the UEFA Cup. The semi-final is already historic for Freiburg – especially for striker Igor Matanovic, according to his own statement, it is “the biggest game of my career”. The goalscorer said he felt “healthy nervousness”.
However, a different picture emerged on the pitch, as Freiburg’s defense was put under pressure early on. Braga had qualified in a furious second leg at Betis Sevilla and continued this performance. Pau Victor missed the lead (5th), but just three minutes later Tiknaz celebrated. Freiburg’s answer followed promptly. The guests benefited from a misunderstanding in the build-up game. Jan-Niklas Beste found the running Grifo, who caused the first of two setbacks for Braga. Less than ten minutes later, captain Ricardo Horta had to leave the field injured.
Despite the support of a good 2,000 traveling fans, the sports club made a relatively large number of mistakes in the passing game and only rarely managed to set an accent. But Freiburg’s keeper Noah Atubolu was hardly tested after conceding an early goal. However, when the focus was on the 23-year-old, he was there and saved a penalty against former Bundesliga professional Rodrigo Zalazar shortly before half-time. Even after the restart, both teams struggled. The opening of the game was repeatedly prevented, and the final consequence was always missing. Freiburg’s Eggestein missed the best chance after just over an hour. In stoppage time, Braga scored the lucky punch through Dorgeles.
