Ibrahim Maza masterclass seals narrow Leverkusen victory against Freiburg
Bayer Leverkusen defeated early pace-setters Freiburg 2-1 at the BayArena, with Ibrahim Maza inspiring the comeback and Patrik Schick netting the winner. The Czech forward made history on Sunday, becoming the only Leverkusen player to score in the opening six matches of a Bundesliga campaign.
Leverkusen 2-1 Freiburg
Goals: 0-1 Scherhant 14’ (assist: Treu), 1-1 Maza 19’ (assist: Schick), 2-1 Schick 76’ (assist: Maza)
Freiburg came into the tie sitting at the summit of the Bundesliga table, having collected a club-record 13 points from their opening five Bundesliga matches. Head coach Julian Schuster made just one change to his side, with Keisuke Gotō replacing the suspended Yuito Suzuki.
Leverkusen's head coach Carles Martínez made five changes from the side's midweek Europa League outing, restoring Schick, Afonso Moreira, Moussa Diaby, Jarell Quansah and Facundo Medina to the starting XI.
Scherhant strikes before Maza levels
After an early stoppage to clear tennis balls thrown onto the pitch, the hosts began brightly. But it was Freiburg who struck first when Philipp Treu won the ball back and combined with Niklas Beste down the right before the move found Derry Scherhant unmarked at the far post to roll in the opener in the 14th minute.
Leverkusen responded almost immediately. Schick laid the ball out wide to Diaby, who picked out Schick again inside the box, and the Czech forward rolled a pass to an unmarked Maza, who finished emphatically with the outside of his boot to make it 1-1 in the 19th minute.
The remainder of the first half developed into a high-quality, tightly-contested affair with few clear-cut chances. Schick headed a free kick against the post before an offside flag ruled it out, and Freiburg appealed unsuccessfully for a handball against Aleix García. Treu picked up a yellow card for a late challenge on Moreira. The teams went in level at the break.
Schick seals it after more Maza magic
Both sides were cautious at the start of the second half, wary of making the mistake that could decide the contest. Leverkusen gradually took control, with Schick blazing a big chance over the bar around the hour mark. The breakthrough arrived in the 76th minute: Maza evaded several defenders at the byline before squaring the ball across the six-yard box for Schick to simply convert, making it 2-1 and giving the Czech forward a goal in each of Leverkusen's first six Bundesliga matches of the season.
Freiburg pushed for an equaliser through substitutes Cyriaque Irié and Lucas Höler, the latter heading just off target with virtually the last action of the game, but Leverkusen held firm to claim all three points.
Man of the Match: Ibrahim Maza
Maza was directly involved in both of Leverkusen's goals, scoring the equaliser with a clinical outside-of-the-boot finish and later producing a dazzling run past several defenders to set up Schick's winner.
He topped the home side's fantasy points ranking for the match, reflecting an afternoon in which he was repeatedly at the heart of Leverkusen's most dangerous moments.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Leverkusen 1.39 - Freiburg 0.81
Fastest player: Moussa Diaby (Leverkusen), 35.56 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 1-1 by Maza (Leverkusen), 20 per cent
Pass efficiency: Aleix García (Leverkusen), +3.92
Fantasy Heroes: Maza (Leverkusen, 127 Points), Scherhant (Freiburg, 109 Points), Treu (Freiburg, 64 Points)
