A serious mistake by Gregor Kobel cost Borussia Dortmund two points against SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga. The highlight of the day was a dream goal from Lucas Höler.
In the 1-1 (0-1) draw on Sunday, Ramy Bensebaini had clearly given Dortmund the lead in the 31st minute. In the 53rd minute, Jobe Bellingham was shown a red card, after which the game tipped over – Freiburg, despite numerous chances, only managed to equalize through Höler (75th).
Kobel, who caused the sending off with a bad pass, then admitted in the Sportschau interview: “It wasn’t an easy game after the red card, we just concentrated on defending. I’m happy to take that on myself. There was a misunderstanding between Jobe and me, I thought he had more space – I should have recognized that better.”
Dortmund’s Kovac pragmatic, Freiburg’s Schuster satisfied
BVB coach Niko Kovac took it pragmatically: “We have to and can live with this one point.” His colleague Julian Schuster was satisfied: “It was a very important point, I especially liked the way it was played. The pressing moment that led to the red card was also symptomatic.”
Dortmund started the game extremely dominantly, had significantly more of the game from the start and quickly made their first dangerous moves. However, a header from Serhou Guirassy, several advances from Yan Couto and an attempt from Fábio Silva still lacked the final precision.
Dortmund’s Chukwuemeka hits the post
BVB became significantly more dangerous from the 20th minute onwards. Carney Chukwuemeka hit the left post after a one-two with Guirassy, shortly afterwards Emre Can was denied by Noah Atubolu after a Freiburg defensive error.
The opening goal after half an hour was clearly deserved. Couto’s free kick from the right flank was missed by three Freiburg defenders, so Bensebaini took advantage at the second post: The central defender took the shot briefly and then fired it into the net from close range to take the lead.
More effort towards the goal – Freiburg’s Günter narrowly fails
Only then did Freiburg show more of a goal, but it took until the 45th minute before Christian Günter made a really dangerous finish. From close range he fired his left-footed shot just wide of the corner – the equalizer at that point would not have been deserved.
At halftime, the guests were ahead in all relevant statistics and had clear advantages in ball possession, duels and shots. But then Niko Kovac’s team got themselves into trouble.
Dortmund’s Kobel causes Bellingham red
While trying to build up the game in a controlled manner from the back, Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel played a very poor pass towards Jobe Bellingham in the 53rd minute. Freiburg’s right winger Philipp Treu recognized the chance, sprinted in and was knocked over by Bellingham. Referee Felix Zwayer immediately pulled the red card for emergency braking out of his back pocket.
As a result, the entire statics of the game changed. Kovac tried to ensure stability when they were outnumbered by bringing in Pascal Groß for Fabio Silva, but one Freiburg attack after another now rolled towards Kobel. However, the Swiss was clearly trying to get over the guilt of being sent off.
Freiburg’s Suzuki hits the crossbar, Höler hits the corner
First Kobel defused a bullet from Maximilian Eggestein, then he sensationally directed a deflected shot from Yuto Suzuki onto the crossbar. But he was powerless against Höler’s subsequent feat: with his back to the goal, the SC striker took the ball and, in distress, hit the ball from the turn into the right angle – outstanding.
After that, Dortmund got almost no relief and Freiburg pressed for the winning goal. The SC fans were already cheering after Matanovic scored in the 86th minute, but the goal was not recognized because Eggestein was offside.
Freiburg in Wolfsburg, Dortmund against Gladbach
Freiburg will be visiting VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.). Dortmund welcomes Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday evening (8:30 p.m.).