Freiburg strolls to victory against Union with no chance

SC Freiburg goes into the international break as the first pursuer of the top duo Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Freiburg won 2-0 against 1. FC Union Berlin and is only two points behind the two industry giants with 19 points after nine match days. The club has never had a better start to a Bundesliga season.

Rani Khedira (55th minute/own goal) and Yuito Suzuki (67th) scored a well-deserved success for coach Julian Schuster's team. In the final minutes, there was a brief moment of silence in the stadium after an emergency intervention occurred in the SC fan block.

Freiburg's starting eleven, which had been changed to four positions after the 1-0 win in the Conference League, dominated from the start against the destructive guests. Union defends collectively and in a disciplined manner, Schuster had warned DAZN in advance: “It is important today, as far as the head is concerned, to accept that not too much happens.”

For a long time very little happened because the hard Berlin concrete initially held up. When the Freiburg team reached their final pressure before the break, the Berlin block crumbled. Suzuki forced Frederik Rönnow to do something brilliant with a low shot. Shortly afterwards, he showed how good the Union goalkeeper was with a Matanovic header. Baden's dominance was also reflected in the goal scoring statistics: the score was 12-0 at halftime.

Coach Mauro Lustrinelli's team continued to defend deeply after the break, Freiburg looked for the gap - and found it: Jan-Niklas Beste passed the ball into the penalty area after a brisk attack, where Khedira scored into his own net.

In return, Makengo almost had the same mishap on the other side when attempting to clear the ball; the ball jumped into the hands of the previously unemployed SC goalkeeper Mio Backhaus. Under pressure from the deficit, the Berliners now ventured a few trips into the Freiburg half, but the home team clearly dominated the game.

The 2-0 was particularly well done: Once again things went forward quickly and simply against the somewhat more open Berliners. Scherhant passed precisely into Suzuki's path, who delayed the finish a little and then elegantly nudged the ball over the powerless Rönnow into the goal. The keeper at least saved a penalty from Joker Vincenzo Grifo.

step/dpa