SC Freiburg landed their first Bundesliga win of the new year and stayed close to the top. A 3-1 (2-1) win against FC Augsburg.
Christian Streich was energized until the final whistle. Although SC Freiburg was clearly on course for victory, the coach did not let up in the final phase of the coaching and encouraged his protégés tirelessly and loudly. In the end it was 3:1 (2:1) against FC Augsburg.
The strong Michael Gregoritsch (13th), Lucas Höler (30th) and Philipp Lienhart (85th) scored for Freiburg in front of 33,500 spectators in the Europa-Park Stadium. Mergim Berisha (29th) had provided the interim equalizer with a penalty kick. After their tenth defeat of the season, Augsburg is stuck in the bottom third of the table.
The Augsburgers struggled with the goal to make it 1:2. “Right after the kick-off we conceded the goal, that was the crux of the matter. In the end we had enough chances to make it 2-3,” said Augsburg’s Arne Maier sky.
But Freiburg was simply more effective and cooler in the end. With 34 points now, the Breisgauers are hot on their heels after only one point from two games in the new year.
Top scorer Grifo in Freiburg back on the bench
Streich, who made his debut as a Bundesliga coach against Augsburg in January 2012, made only one change to his starting eleven compared to the 1-1 draw against Frankfurt on Wednesday. Yannik Keitel slipped into defensive midfield for Nicolas Höfler, who was suspended, while top scorer Vincenzo Grifo initially returned to the bench.
Freiburg started cautiously and often let Augsburg have the ball. But defensively, Breisgau were stable and, like against Frankfurt, didn’t let anything burn. With the first clear offensive action, Freiburg then took the lead.
After a long pass from his own half, the ball landed at Keitel. The 22-year-old staged Gregoritsch, who hit the far corner with a well-placed shot from a tight angle (13′). The hosts now took control of the game and tried to calm the game with a lot of possession.
In the 27th minute, referee Christian Dingert awarded Augsburg a penalty after a foul on former Freiburg player Ermedin Demirovic. After a short check by the video assistant, Berisha (29th) converted safely.
Berisha misses equalization for Augsburg
But Freiburg was not shocked and took the lead again just 13 seconds later: After just three stops, the ball landed at Höler, who only had to push in from close range (30′).
As a result, the game became more heated both on and off the pitch and there were more intense duels. Both teams had chances just before half-time. But while Gregoritsch failed on the strong Gikiewicz (39th), Berisha missed the equalizer with a header (40th).
After the change of sides, Augsburg pressed for the equalizer, but they rarely had any chances worth mentioning (58′). Freiburg continued to try to be dangerous with long balls, but were initially not compelling enough to score (59th/71st). It was then up to Lienhart to make the decision.
SC Freiburg – FC Augsburg: The voices of the game
Christian Streich (Coach SC Freiburg): “We played against good Augsburgers, it was difficult and they were very strong and played smart. We had good chances to score and sometimes made two goals from the game, but we also let a few things go. We are very, very happy. The team had already done a brutal job on Wednesday and you can’t always have this intensity. In the end it was deserved, also with a view to the other chances.”
Enrico Maassen (FC Augsburg coach): “We played well for 90 minutes against a good opponent. We know how difficult it is to survive here, given the emotional level. We have to accept that we scored all three goals too easily – even if it was one quality of the opponent. But we also had chances to take a point.”
