Freiburg edge Basel in UEFA Europa League

Freiburg survived a late scare against Basel to get their 2025/26 UEFA Europa League campaign off to a winning start at the Europa-Park Stadion.

Freiburg 2-1 Basel
Goals: 1-0 Osterhage 31', 2-0 Eggestein 56' (assist: Grifo), 2-1 Otele 84' (assist: Leroy)

Freiburg shaded a first half of few chances, thanks to Patrick Osterhage's thunderous finish with little over 30 minutes gone.

Maximilian Eggestein headed in Vincenzo Grifo's cross shortly after the restart to put Julian Schuster's team on course for victory.

Philip Otele did manage to halve the deficit with six minutes of normal time remaining, but Freiburg held on for all three points.

Die Breisgauer visit Italian outfit Bologna in their second league phase fixture on 2 October.

See Freiburg's Europa League fixtures here

Recap the match action against Basel below...

2 - 1

(1 - 0)

Freiburg

FINAL

Basel

Europa League
League phase, Matchday 1 League phase, Matchday 1 Europa-Park Stadion

Full-time: Freiburg 2-1 Basel

The hosts survive a late scare to start their 2025/26 UEFA Europe League campaign with three points. A goal in each half from Patrick Osterhage and Maximilian Eggestein ensured that Philip Otele's late strike for Basel remained a consolation.

© IMAGO/Arne Amberg

90'

+ 3

Yellow card

Ajeti

90'

Substitution

Eren Dinkçi

Johan Manzambi

89'

Time added on

There will be five additional minutes here.

88'

'Tactical' foul

Philipp Treu takes one for the team by preventing a Basel counter-attack.

88'

Yellow card

Philipp Treu

84'

Basel in reach

Basel's Nigerian forward Philip Otele has put the visitors right back into this game in the closing stages with a cracker of a curling finish to the corner following a one-two. Freiburg have work to do still.

83'

Otele

GOAL!

2:1

83'

Substitution

Rüegg

Adjetey

80'

Busy Salvi

Basel keeper Mirko Salvi saves his side by denying Eggestein's shot to the corner that had 3-0 written all over it.

79'

Treu again

The Freiburg sub is a busy figure at the moment and, after collecting a pass from Eggestein, shoots wide from distance.

76'

Treu hopeful

Treu races to the byline and cuts back into the six yar box, but there's nobody there for Freiburg.

75'

Substitution

Derry Scherhant

Vincenzo Grifo

75'

Substitution

Igor Matanović

Junior Adamu

74'

Basel go close

Visiting sub Broschinski is a whisker away from connecting with Shaqiri's dangerous centre from the left. Freiburg survive.

71'

Substitution

Broschinski

Ajeti

71'

Substitution

Philipp Treu

Niklas Beste

71'

Substitution

Christian Günter

Jordy Makengo

70'

Grifo in the book

Grifo is booked after landing on Jeremy Agbonifo's foot.

69'

Yellow card

Vincenzo Grifo

65'

Basel goal shy

Basel have raised their game since going 2-0 behind but to the frustration of the away fans, they have created little despite having plenty of possession.

Eggesstein in UEL

Freiburg midfielder Eggestein's last goal in the UEFA Europa League came in a 1-0 win against FK TSC Backa Topola in the group stages back in 2023.

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Thomas Hess

61'

Atubolu on guard

Jonas Adjetey spanks a shot at the target from distance but Atubolu manages to deal with that relatively easily.

57'

Visiting changes

Ludovic Magnin opts for a triple swap as he attempts to engineer a way back into this Europa League game, which now looks to be slipping away from Basel.

57'

Substitution

Otele

Salah

57'

Substitution

Agbonifo

Zé

57'

Substitution

Vouillez

Tsunemoto

57'

Freiburg double up!

It's 2-0 to the hosts after Vincenzo Grifo's arcing centre is met by Maximilian Eggestein's powerful header that beats Mirko Salvi.

57'

Maximilian Eggestein

GOAL!

2:0

53'

Basel searching

Zé sends in a cross from the right for Ajeti, who leaps and heads the ball wide of the upright.

50'

Grifo chance

Ginter is back on and the home side are quickly on the attack. Beste feeds Manzambi, who in turn picks out Grifo. The latter's shot could be better placed and is relatively easy for Salvi to save.

47'

Ginter treatment

Freiburg's Matthias Ginter kicks the ball out of play and will have to go off for treatment for what looks like an eye injury. The hosts are momentarily down to 10.

46'

Away we go again

The second half is go at the Europa-Park Stadion.

Half-time: Freiburg 1-0 Basel

In a game of relatively few chances, Freiburg lead thanks to Patrick Osterhage's super strike into the corner.

© IMAGO/Ralf Brueck

44'

Basel go close

The visitors mount a fine attack that ends with Arlet Junior Zé bringing a parried save from Atubolu. Shaqiri's follow up is blocked by Osterhage.

41'

Tsunemoto sees yellow

Basel's Keigo Tsunemoto is booked for a heavy challenge on Manzambi.

41'

Yellow card

Tsunemoto

37'

Hosts attack once more

Beste delivers an accurate cross from the right to Manzambi, who leaps and heads at the target. Mirko Salvi saves with not too much fuss.

Osterhage first

Patrick Osterhage may have three Bundesliga goals to his name with Freiburg and former side Bochum, but that's his first successful strike in European competition!

© IMAGO/Harry Langer/DeFodi Images

31'

Freiburg lead!

After some good work from Johan Manzambi, the ball breaks for Patrick Osterhage, who drives a tidy finish into the corner to put the hosts in front!

31'

Patrick Osterhage

GOAL!

1:0

26'

Adjetey okay

Jonas Adjetey is back on his feet after receiving some attention following a knock. The action can continue ...

Attacking intent

The home side have managed to mount 13 attacks so far in this game, but their efforts are yet to produce a guilt-edged chance. Patience will be a virtue for the Bundesliga team.

© IMAGO/Ralf Brueck

20'

Grifo menace

Freiburg get motoring once more with Beste finding Grifo on the left. The latter's subsequent shot is quickly charged down and Basel can regroup.

17'

Few chances

There hasn't been a lot for fans of either side to get overly excited about in the recent exchanges, with chances now at a premium as both teams size each other up.

Nothing in it

Freiburg are currently shading the possession stakes, with Julian Schuster's men having 51 percent of the ball thus far.

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Thomas Hess

10'

Confidence growing

Following a tough opening to this game, the hosts are finally starting to knock the ball around with much more confidence as they seek an opening in the Basel defence.

7'

Home relief

A little let-up for Freiburg here, with a rare attack leading to Johan Manzambi having a shot blocked. The home fans raise the noise again in the hope of lifting their heroes.

6'

All Basel

The Swiss champions continue to set the pace here and Ibrahim Salah is the latest visiting player to have an attempt that misses the target.

4'

Off target

Léo Leroy has a pop at goal from distance, but his effort fizzes over the bar.

3'

Atubolu alert

... that said, it's Basel who create the game's first big moment, with Atubolu making an important stop from Albian Ajeti's header. That was a close call for the hosts.

3'

Super atmosphere

The Freiburg fans are really up for this European night and they will likely have a big part to play in any home success in this game.

1'

Peeeep!

The ball is rolling in Freiburg ...

Ready to go ....

We've had the on-field formalities and all that's left is to get this UEFA Europa League group phase encounter started!

Teams in tunnel !

Both sides are about to make their way out onto the pitch at the Europa Park Stadion! We're edging closer to kick-off.

Jung focused

This is a big night for Freiburg defender Anthony Jung, who is making his first start for his new side following a summer switch from Werder Bremen. Born in Villajoyosa, Spain, Jung has been living in Germany since the age of three and spent part of his youth career at Eintracht Frankfurt.

© IMAGO/Arne Amberg

Coaching turnaround

Voted Germany's Coach of the Year for last season by Kicker magazine and the German Sports Journalists Association (VDS), Julian Schuster has once again demonstrated his man-management skills by helping Freiburg respond to a very tricky start to the current campaign with back-to-back wins sending the Black Forest team into tonight's Europa League opener in confident mood.

Familiar face

Visiting captain Xherdan Shaqiri scored 11 goals in 52 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern between 2012 and 2015, winning three top-flight titles along the way in Germany.

© imago sportfotodienst

Close encounters

Lest we forget, and as Julian Schuster pointed out yesterday, there is only 50 kilometres separating tonight's opponents, meaning a large travelling contingent has made its way to the Europa-Park Stadion, and they are making plenty of noise as we approach kick-off.

More on those teams

Schuster makes three changes to the side that started the 3-0 win in Bremen. Left-back Christian Günter returns to captain the side, with Jordy Makengo making way. Anthony Jung replaces Philipp Lienhart at centre-back, and Swiss teenager Johan Manzambi is cycled in for Lucas Höler in attack. Visitors Basel, meanwhile, are captained by former Bayern Munich man Xherdan Shaqiri. Ex-Borussia Dortmund reserves and Bochum forward Moritz Broschinski is among the substitutes.

© IMAGO/Grant Hubbs

Freiburg starting line-up

Atubolu - Kübler, Ginter, Jung, Günter (c) - Eggestein, Osterhage - Beste, Manzambi, Grifo - Adamu

Freiburg subs

Müller, Huth, Scherzhaft, Suzuki, Eren Dinkçi, Höfler, Treu, Matanović, Makengo, Rosenfelder, Ogbus

Basel starting line-up

Salvi - Tsunemoto, Barišić, Adjetey, Schmid - Leroy, Metinho - Zé, Shaqiri (c), Salah - Ajeti

Basel subs

Spycher, Pfeiffer, Vouilloz, Otele, Agbonifo, Bacanin, Broschinski, Šotiček, Daniliuc, Rüegg, Kacuri, Cisse

0:38

Watch: Julian Schuster on 'special' European return

Schuster assesses Basel

The Freiburg coach said: "Basel are a very strong team, accustomed to having a lot of possession in their league. The centre-backs build up the play well, and the full-backs always get involved."

Maximilian Eggestein on Freiburg's good form

Following successive wins against Stuttgart and Bremen, the Freiburg midfielder said: "Of course it's better to start in a competition like this off the back of two victories. The Cologne game was particularly poor from us, but the international break came at the right time, and we made sure to use it wisely and to work hard.”

© JS / JS

Julian Schuster on 'European derby'

The Freiburg coach said ahead of the encounter: “For me, it’s a derby because of how close the two clubs are. For all the Swiss fans as well, it’s not a long journey. Everything points towards an exciting occasion, and I’m really looking forward to it all.”

© IMAGO/Arne Amberg

A European hop

This fixture may well be the shortest crossborder trip in European competition this season. It is less than an hour's drive from Basel's St. Jakob-Park just over the Swiss border to Freiburg's Europa-Park Stadion. Many people flying to Freiburg will in fact use Basel's airport. Freiburg's shortest domestic away trip, for example, is the two-hour drive to Hoffenheim.

Matanović or Adamu?

Freiburg have a pretty much fully fit squad, with Johan Manzambi also available in Europe after his domestic suspension. The big question for Julian Schuster is up front, where Igor Matanović (pictured) is working his way to full fitness and scored twice on his debut off the bench against Stuttgart. However, Junior Adamu got the nod against Bremen and also netted.

© Helge Prang

Freiburg probable XI

Atubolu – Kübler, Ginter, Lienhart, Günter (c) – Eggestein, Osterhage – Beste, Höler, Grifo – Matanović

Basel probable XI

Hitz – Tsunemoto, Vouilloz, Barišić, Schmid – Šotiček, Leroy, Metinho, Otele – Shaqiri (c), Ajeti

0:59

Watch: Atubolu's penalty saves

Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu has set a new Bundesliga record by saving five consecutive penalties.

2:03

Watch: Bremen 0-3 Freiburg

Freiburg took a big win in Bremen thanks to goals from Vincenzo Grifo and Junior Adamu.

Swiss champions

Basel are also returning to European competition after a rare season out of continental football. Ludovic Magnin's side were Swiss Super League champions last term. They lost out to Copenhagen in a UEFA Champions League qualifier in August.

© IMAGO/Anton Geisser

Strong record

Freiburg are returning to the UEFA Europa League after finishing last season in fifth place in the Bundesliga. They reached the tournament's Round of 16 stage in 2022/23 and 23/24.

© IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Memmler

2:03

Bouncing back

Julian Schuster and his players were left scratching their heads after starting the Bundesliga season with back-to-back defeats. A 3-1 victory against Stuttgart on Matchday 3 steadied the SCF ship, however.

2:22

Welcome to Freiburg!

First meeting

Wednesday's game represents the first time these sides have played against each other in UEFA competition.

© IMAGO/Arne Amberg

Welcome along!

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the UEFA Europa League, opening league phase encounter between Freiburg and Basel from the Europa-Park Stadion!

About the clubs

Freiburg

Europa-Park Stadion