After a shock win against Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday, Freiburg’s confidence heading into this fixture will have been high – as they looked to do the double over the historic German superpower. A win could well see Freiburg enter the title race, but Thomas Tuchel would be desperate to get his first away win on his return to German Football and keep Bayern on top of the table.
SCF: Flekken; Günter, Guide, Ginter, Sildillia; Höfler, Eggestein; Grifo, Doan; Höler, Gregoritsch
FCB: Sommer; Davies, De Ligt, Pavard, Cancelo; Kimmich; Mané, Musiala, Müller, Sané; Gnabry
The early stages of the game saw Freiburg playing fast and direct football, with Gregoritsch and Doan starting well. The first big chance of the match fell to Bayern though in the 9th minute, as Musiala made a brilliant turn in the six-yard box and crossed it to Gnabry. The German then unleashed a strike, but Flekken was ready between the posts to make the save.
Bayern’s second big chance came after a wonderful play from the left – Mané was through on goal but his chip over Flekken narrowly missed the target. The game played out a relatively even affair, until Pavard’s effort from Kimmich’s corner was blocked by the bodies in Freiburg’s box. On the counter, Höler couldn’t keep the ball down – great chances for either side ahead of the break.
Flekken was determined to keep a clean sheet, and made a great save to deny Leroy Sané with 42 minutes played. The German had found himself one-on-one with the Dutch ‘keeper, but couldn’t make his effort count! Ritsu Doan was denied by Yann Sommer at the other end of the pitch soon after, though the Swiss international did well to keep the game goalless.
Six minutes into the second half, Matthijs de Ligt opened the scoring as he sent a thunderous strike past his international teammate. Jamal Musiala couldn’t find a way through the Freiburg defence and laid it off to De Ligt, whose effort from twenty-five yards out crashed into the roof of the net. Bayern were ahead, and in sensational style!
Bayern were well and truly on top, and looked to extend their lead over their top-four rivals – but Mané’s headed was denied by Flekken, shortly before Sané missed a one-on-one chance. Thomas Tuchel’s side looked unstoppable, and they’ll look to carry the momentum into their upcoming Champions League tie against Manchester City.
Despite a flurry of chances for either side towards the end of the game, neither team could find the back of the net – meaning Matthijs de Ligt’s superb strike was the difference for Bayern as they retain their top spot. Freiburg remain fourth in the Bundesliga, while a win for Borussia Dortmund over Union Berlin keeps die Schwarzgelben in second. Union are close behind in third.
