After an early lead, RB Leipzig seemed to lack the necessary strength against SC Freiburg. But then came substitute Christoph Baumgartner, who led his team to a 3-1 (1-1) victory in the final quarter of an hour.
Both teams started the final game of the eleventh Bundesliga matchday on a high note. Leipzig secured a place in the Champions League with a hard-fought 2-1 win in Belgrade during the week, while Freiburg defeated the Serbian team from Topola 5-0 in the Europa League.
Xavi irresistible – Leipzig in the front early
Leipzig in particular seemed inspired. It took less than six minutes for coach Marco Rose’s team to be in the lead. Xavi stole the ball from Freiburg’s Lucas Höler in the opposing half. The Dutchman took a few more steps and shot the ball from a good 20 meters into the far corner – 1-0 (6th).
Leipzig stuck with it, remained superior and pushed SC vehemently onto the defensive. After a good 20 minutes it was almost 2-0: The hard-working Lois Openda got into a good finishing position on the right side of the edge of the penalty area and aimed for the left corner with his right outer instep. SCF goalkeeper Noah Atubolu stretched himself out and barely steered the ball around the post with his fingertips.
Freiburg rebels, a goal doesn’t count
Freiburg has developed into a team with high Bundesliga standards for some time now. This became apparent when the opponent’s intensity decreased after a good half hour. The SC recognized and took advantage of this immediately – now attacked in turn.
After 35 minutes the ball was in the Leipzig net, Kilian Sildillia had scored and scored. Alone: The Freiburg wing player was one step offside when Maximilian Eggestein’s previous long-range shot. The hit didn’t count.
Röhl sensationally made it 1-1
But the compensation was only postponed. Merlin Röhl started an almost irresistible solo run in the 45th minute, in which he ultimately made Lukas Klostermann in particular look very old. From 15 meters he shot the ball brilliantly into the far corner – just like Xavi did on the other side. It was 1:1 at the break. And Röhl had his first Bundesliga goal to his name.
Freiburg had a draw at the break and almost took the lead after the break. Vincenzo Grifo had set up Noah Weißhaupt on the left with a wonderful interface pass. Höler converted his cross in the middle to make it 1-2 (56′) – but here too the linesman’s flag was rightly up. The cross giver was just offside.
RB save substitutions
The people of Leipzig now seemed to be running out of strength. In particular, the offensive around the lively Xavi was barely able to put itself in the spotlight. Freiburg became dominant. RB coach Rose tried to counteract this with a three-man substitution (70′), but his team didn’t really dominate.
But there was still room for celebration: Substitute Christoph Baumgartner was hit on the right foot by Grifo in the 78th minute – because it happened in the Freiburg penalty area, referee Patrick Ittrich had no other choice: a penalty. Lois Openda made it 2-1.
Baumgartner decides the game
Barely two turns of the pointer later, the game was decided: After a Leipzig counter, Baumgartlinger had a free shot on the right. His 16-meter shot was deflected into the near corner – 3-1 (80′). The substitute almost single-handedly decided the game for his team.
Leipzig against Wolfsburg, Freiburg welcomes Darmstadt
RB Leipzig will face VfL Wolfsburg on matchday 12 (Saturday, November 25th, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). Freiburg is challenged against Darmstadt at the same time.