Freiburg fourth for the time being
SC Freiburg goes into the highlight game against Juventus Turin with a sense of achievement and has put TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in even more trouble. Between the two round of 16 games in the Europa League, the people of Breisgau defeated the new tail light from Kraichgau 2-1 (1-0) in the Bundesliga on Sunday thanks to a late goal. This makes the situation in Hoffenheim more and more precarious.
Freiburg initially benefited from an unsuccessful header defense by John Anthony Brooks, who unluckily carried the ball to the goalscorer Maximilian Eggestein (5th minute). In the closing stages, Ritsu Doan secured victory for the home side (89′). Angelo Stiller (49th) had scored the equalizer for Hoffenheim.
The Freiburgers therefore still have good chances of being part of the European Cup in the coming season. TSG, whose negative run continues, has completely different concerns. In the meantime, the Kraichgauers have been waiting for a win for 14 Bundesliga games and have lost the last eight games. The change of coach also brought no change, as the team have not won in five games under Pellegrino Matarazzo either. To make matters worse, Ozan Kabak saw the yellow-red card for unsportsmanlike behavior (84th).
For the Baden state duel, which Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann did not miss, Hoffenheim coach Matarazzo changed his starting eleven to six positions. Among other things, defender Kevin Vogt was absent due to an adductor injury. “Sometimes you decide with your gut and not with your head and try out different constellations in training,” said Matarazzo at DAZN. And in Ihlas Bebou another new man had the first and for a long time last chance for the guests after less than 15 seconds. Freiburg started cautiously in front of 33,500 spectators. The lead was all the more surprising. After a cross from Vincenzo Grifo, goalkeeper Oliver Baumann and Brooks blocked each other. Eggestein was the beneficiary, scoring his first goal since December 5, 2021.
The home side’s 1-0 had an effect. They now had a lot more possession, which Matarazzo didn’t like at all. He gestured on the sidelines and tried to influence his team. Although the guests didn’t allow any further opportunities at first, they didn’t become dangerous themselves either. Freiburg’s Matthias Ginter was the first to put his teammate Mark Flekken under pressure with a tackle on his own goal (29′). In the first half of the season, both teams were still in the top group. Since then, some things have changed for the worse among the guests.
“If we score one more goal than Hoffenheim, that would be a top performance from us after that strenuous game in Turin, in which we had to invest a lot physically,” Streich had said beforehand. His players met the target with a little luck. Because after the deserved equalization by Stiller, Doan scored a goal worth seeing. Shortly before, Kabak had been sent off.
Before the game against the Italian record champions on Thursday (6.45 p.m.), Freiburg will have to recharge their batteries. The starting point is clear: a win by one goal would be enough after the 1-0 loss in Turin for extra time and fuel hopes for further highlights this season.
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