SC Freiburg gave their coach Christian Streich the right gift in his anniversary game.
Christian Streich looked at his anniversary very soberly. “I’ve experienced a lot of nice things,” said the SC Freiburg coach over 400 games on the sidelines of his heart club, but: “It’s cost a price. That also takes strength over the years.” However, Saturday was one of the better of many good days: Freiburg won 1-0 (1-0) at VfB Stuttgart. Streich could be satisfied, which experience has shown is quite rare.
Vincenzo Grifo gave SC an early lead in front of 47,500 spectators (11th) and secured their second win of the season. It was the seventh Freiburg league game in a row without a defeat against VfB (five wins), “a dirty win”, as the goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who was outstanding this time, stated: “We’re on a damn good path, we want to keep it.” In the 1: 3 against Borussia Dortmund in the previous week he had made a serious mistake.
Borna Sosa was in the starting eleven for the first time after a long injury break at VfB. He replaced Tiago Tomas, who had a cold. The injured Konstantinos Mavropanos and Josha Vagnoman could play against it. Streich made no changes after the 3-1 draw against Dortmund.
Freiburg hits the target with the first shot
Both coaches had expressed great respect for their opponents before the game. Streich expected a game at eye level. But initially VfB had more of the game, the Swabians were more active than SC.
The lead was all the more surprising when the guests immediately took advantage of the first attack. After a cross from Kiliann Sildillia, Grifo dusted the far post. The VfB defense didn’t look good.
VfB’s initial momentum was gone for the time being. Freiburg now acted in a superior manner and could have followed up with Michael Gregoritsch (30th). Only then did VfB come up again. The best opportunity before the break to equalize Flekken, who parried a header from Mavropanos (35th).
Flekken was immediately in the spotlight after the change when he made a strong save against Sosa (48′). As a result, Stuttgart made an effort, but found hardly any gaps. Freiburg was largely stable and usually waited for counterattacks.
Eggestein plays with a broken forearm
After the game it became known that Freiburg midfielder Maximilian Eggestein had broken his elbow and spoke. This confirmed Streich. Eggestein had injured himself shortly before the end, but held out with a bandage.
“It’s amazing that he kept playing,” said Streich. Eggestein reported to him that the bones “grated”: “He sat in the dressing room and said: It’s okay, we won.”
VfB Stuttgart – SC Freiburg: The voices of the game
Pellegrino Matarazzo (VfB Stuttgart coach): “We came in well to very well. The first mistake was punished. We needed time to find our line. We stabilized and played a dominant second half. We weren’t able to reward ourselves, that’s very bitter. We have to get rid of the frustration and look towards Cologne.”
Christian Streich (Coach SC Freiburg): “The first half was fairly balanced, we made it 1-0 with the first move. In the second half, VfB were better than us. We couldn’t get hold of the ball, we were too sluggish. That’s a win for us not typical, we actually can’t.”
VfB Stuttgart – SC Freiburg: The data for the game
