The victory seems already lost, then a powerful shot finds its way into the goal – and SC Freiburg keeps dreaming of the Champions League.
Christian Streich was no longer on his bench. The SC Freiburg coach was pacing up and down full of adrenaline and kept pushing the fans, the late goal to make it 3-2 (2-0) against VfL Wolfsburg caused great emotions. When the final whistle blew moments later, Streich’s record victory was perfect – and Freiburg can continue to dream of the Champions League.
“It was totally emotional,” said sports director Jochen Saier on Sky, “punk went off in the stadium, that’s good for all of us.” The players should now be happy to continue talking about the premier class, “they have to live up to that on the pitch. But that’s looking pretty good at the moment.”
With a fantastic free kick and a spectacular volley, Vincenzo Grifo (7’/44′) initially gave the surprise team a clear lead. Max Kruse (52nd) and Maximilian Arnold (84th) equalized again for Wolfsburg – only then did a powerful shot by Nico Schlotterbeck (87th) decide the game.
With his 104th Bundesliga victory with the Sport-Club, Streich has now caught up with Volker Finke in the list of Freiburg record coaches. And his team is back in fourth place for the time being, RB Leipzig can overtake SpVgg Greuther Fürth again on Sunday (7.30 p.m. / DAZN).
Freiburg increases towards the end of the first half
During the week, the coach had extended his contract again, in the summer he is already in his twelfth season. Before the kick-off, however, he had to cope with several corona-related failures. The last ailing top performer Schlotterbeck and Nicolas Höfler were available after a yellow card suspension.
Freiburg started furiously and took the 25,000 fans with them straight away, causing big problems for coach Florian Kohfeldt’s team. After Grifo flicked the ball into the corner with a free kick, Ermedin Demirovic (10′) just missed the double with a hit on the post.
Wolfsburg, who had to do without goalkeeper Koen Casteels (hip problems), remained harmless. Attacking star Kruse, for example, rarely showed his strengths against his former club.
Freiburg, on the other hand, improved again after a quieter phase. Lucas Höler (34′) and Christian Günter (40′) just missed the second goal, then Grifo stopped the ball technically demanding after a cross and completed it directly from close range.
The guests got off to a better start in the second half, Kruse stayed cool in front of SC goalkeeper Mark Flekken and easily pushed in. Before the start of a hard-fought final phase, Freiburg was lucky with Wolfsburg’s best chance that substitute Lukas Nmecha (67th) put the ball just over the goal. But then Schlotterbeck owed Arnold the equalizer – and only moments later scored himself from the edge of the penalty area.
