SC Freiburg concluded Wolfsburg’s unbeaten streak of eight fixtures by defeating them 3-2 at the Europa-Park Stadium, overtaking them in the Bundesliga standings to rise to fifth in what could ultimately prove pivotal in the struggle for European qualification come May.
Wolfsburg were commanding at first and left frustrated when their leading scorer Mohamed Amoura failed to finish a one-on-one. Denis Vavro then placed a free header wide from the ensuing corner, but Freiburg created a superb opportunity of their own, as a strong Ritsu Doan strike forced Kamil Grabara into an exceptional save. Back at the opposite end, Noah Atubolu made a fine save of his own to deny Konstantinos Koulierakis’s top corner-bound header, but just when it seemed halftime would be reached goalless, Freiburg’s Lucas Höler’s first-time back heel from a corner set up Lukas Kübler, who drilled in his third Bundesliga goal of the season.
However, there was still an opportunity for one more chance before the interval, and the visitors came millimetres away from equalising when a Patrick Wimmer corner found the head of Koulierakis, who smashed an attempt against the crossbar. Despite only netting 17 league goals this season, the Breisgau Brazilians did not appear hesitant in front of the net, and they dismantled Wolfsburg again with a corner soon after the restart. This time it was Michael Gregoritsch’s flick that reached Kübler, who headed home his and Freiburg’s second of the night, securing his second brace of the campaign.
And after only registering four goals in their previous five Bundesliga matches, the hosts made it 3-0 on the hour when a perfect Doan delivery was expertly guided by a Gregoritsch header into the bottom corner. To their credit, Die Wölfe – who had scored 13 goals in their last four league contests – refused to surrender and pulled one back with 15 minutes of standard time left. Substitute Jonas Wind extended his impressive season in front of goal, slotting his eighth of the campaign with a neat turn in the area before hitting the bottom corner.
Instead of safeguarding their advantage, the hosts kept pressing for more goals and were only thwarted further by the post and Grabara, who stopped Höler from scoring late on. However, this aggressive approach backfired, allowing Wolfsburg to close within one goal via another outstanding effort from the visitors. Another substitute, Mattias Svanberg, executed an overhead kick into the bottom corner after the hosts failed to clear the ball, setting up a tense conclusion to the evening’s encounter.
After conceding a second goal, the hosts opted for a prudent strategy, sitting back to secure what turned out to be a much more anxious victory than it ought to have been despite Höler having a goal overturned in stoppage time for a handball. Nonetheless, the win has elevated them to fifth on 24 points while dropping their opponents to sixth in the Bundesliga.
