Several teams were hoping for help from SC Freiburg – and that was thanks to Philipp Lienhart. After his goal in a 1-1 (0-1) draw against VfL Wolfsburg, the relegation battle in the Bundesliga is now limited to just three teams.
In the 55th minute, Konstantinos Koulierakis gave Wolfsburg the lead with a header, and against weak Freiburg they secured their second win in the last 15 games. 20 minutes later, Lienhart headed the momentous equalizer.
Because of this, Werder Bremen and 1. FC Köln (both 32 points) are as good as saved – both clubs could theoretically finish 16th – Union Berlin (33) and Hamburger SV (34) are now assured of staying in the league. Between Wolfsburg, FC St. Pauli (both 26) and 1. FC Heidenheim (23) it is probably only about the relegation place.
“At the back we have to be happy with the point, but we played a really good game over 90 minutes”said “Wolves” coach Dieter Hecking. “We are certainly not a typical relegation team, our competitors knew that it was all about staying in the leaguetwe are entering a situation that no one has seen before. But we’re on the right track now and haven’t lost three times – we have to build on that in the last four games, hopefully.”
Little happens after Eriksen hits the post
In the early stages, Christian Eriksen had a lot of fun. After winning the ball high, the Dane finished from 17 meters and showed his strong shooting technique, but he was unlucky that the ball hit the post (9th). For a long time it was the only highlight of the game, because Freiburg seemed tired after the late 1-2 defeat in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final at Sporting Braga, Wolfsburg played tensely according to their own situation.
The hosts took command after Eriksen’s chance, but did not pose any threat throughout the first half. The only situation in which a goal was possible was again from Wolfsburg. However, Adam Daghim put a header from eleven meters just past the Freiburg goal (42nd). So the game went into the half-time break goalless with the only correct result.
Koulierakis rewards Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg came out of this quite energetically, but didn’t take full advantage of some Freiburg mistakes. Daghim had the best finish in the pressure phase, but Noah Atubolu was able to fend off his low shot from 19 meters (52′). And then a standard situation brought salvation, after a corner Koulierakis scored the deserved 1-0 for the “Wolves” (55th).
As a result, the guests were closer to 2-0 than Freiburg was to 1-1. Julian Schuster’s team disappointed and faced their fourth competitive defeat in a row. In contrast to the previous Bundesliga game (0:4 at Borussia Dortmund), the coach decided not to only field a B team, but his regular staff also seemed completely weak and lacking in ideas. It is also possible that the players wanted to save some grains for the second leg on Thursday against Braga (9 p.m.).
Lienhart enables Freiburg to gain an important point
But they picked themselves up again and actually equalized. After a cross from Johan Manzambi, Lienhart also scored with a header to make it 1-1 (75th), the defender’s first Bundesliga goal in over 19 months. And that was also important for Freiburg, because it meant that the Schuster team moved past Eintracht Frankfurt to seventh place in the live table.
Accordingly, Lienhart also said in the Sportschau interview after the game: “We can live with the point because we fell behind, that speaks for the team. We have an incredible number of games and work extremely hard, in the end we could have won the game.”
Important step for Wolfsburg despite the draw
Neither Freiburg nor Wolfsburg were able to do that; both teams were no longer in a position to change the result. The point was a disappointment for Wolfsburg because direct rescue is almost impossible, but at least the Hecking team improved to 16th place in the relegation zone because the goal difference is three goals better than St. Pauli. There will be a direct duel on the last match day.
Before that, Wolfsburg has the task of overthrowing FC Bayern Munich; on Saturday evening (6.30 p.m.) the relegation-threatened “Wolves” will host the old and new German champions. In the fight for Europe, Freiburg continues a day later at HSV (3:30 p.m.) – which, thanks to Breisgauer, is no longer part of the relegation battle.
