Freiburg 3-0 Bochum
Goals: 1-0 Kübler 5' (assist: Höfler), 2-0 Sallai 16' (assist: Jeong), 3-0 Sallai 53' (assist: Jeong)
Sent off: Stafylidis (68')

Maximilian Eggestein had the first shot of the game inside three minutes, his stinging drive well saved by Manuel Riemann in what was an early warning sign Bochum failed to heed. The visiting goalkeeper was powerless to prevent Freiburg taking the lead with their next chance as Lukas Kübler received a wonderful diagonal cross-field pass from Nicolas Höfler to lash a shot into the bottom corner. The home side wasted little time in pressing home their advantage, with Sallai producing a similar finish to Kübler from Jeong’s clever pass, his low, arrowed shot bouncing in off the inside of the far post. Nils Petersen and Sallai could have put the result beyond all doubt before a one-sided first half came to an end, but were unable to apply the finishing touch to promising moves.

Bochum coach Thomas Reis made a triple substitution at the interval as he looked to inject fresh impetus into his team, but Freiburg were simply too good. Christian Streich’s men got the decisive third goal their performance deserved soon after the restart when Jeong wriggled free on the left and crossed for Sallai to head in his second of the game. Nico Schlotterbeck should have added a fourth moments later from a Vincenzo Grifo free-kick, but he was thwarted by a superb save from Reimann. A disappointing day at the office for Bochum was compounded in the 68th minute when Konstantinos Stafylidis was sent off for an overexuberant tackle, effectively ending the already slim hopes the visitors had of mounting a comeback. Bochum remain in 12th as a result, eight points clear of the relegation zone, while Freiburg continue to rub shoulders with the top four.

SCF Freiburg Freiburg - BOC Bochum Bochum

Freiburg maintain top-four push