Nils Petersen scored his fifth goal of the Rückrunde and provided the impetus for Freiburg to overcome Hertha Berlin on Saturday, which pushed the Black Forest club 11 points clear of the relegation play-off place.

Freiburg 2-1 Hertha Berlin

Goals: 1-0 Petersen (27’), 1-1 Ibisevic (76’), 2-1 Ibisevic (o.g. 80’)

Freiburg began the match hoping they could pick up just a second win of 2019, and looked dangerous in front of goal from the very beginning. Janik Haberer nearly gave the home side an early lead, but his shot flashed just wide of the post. Hertha were eventually able to impose themselves and had more possession, but it was the hosts who had by far the better chances and deservedly took the lead inside half an hour. Freiburg worked the ball patiently around the final third, eventually getting it to Vincenzo Grifo on the right. The Italian placed a delicious cross into the box where Petersen nodded the ball low into the back of the net, leaving Rune Jarstein no chance. Hertha had real trouble fashioning clear-cut scoring opportunities and their best chance of equalising came just before the break when Ondrej Duda directed a header wide, with captain Vedad Ibisevic waiting in an ideal position.

Both coaches decided to make changes at the start of the second half, with vision problems forcing Philipp Lienhart’s early withdrawal for Freiburg, and a tactical change bringing Fabian Lustenberger’s 300th appearance for Hertha to an early end. That switch seemed to have the desired effect, with Hertha looking much livelier than they had in the first half and further bossing possession and shots on goal. An equaliser did not immediately materialise, as Freiburg were resilient in defence. However, as they have done so many times before this season, Hertha managed to find a way back into the match. Jordan Torunarigha found a way in behind the defence on the left and crossed to Ibisevic, who was completely unmarked in the centre of the area and made no mistake with his first shot on goal. The Old Lady’s return to level terms would be short-lived, though. Freiburg were awarded a corner, which Grifo placed into the waiting crowd. Ibisevic didn’t know much about it, but the ball hit his head last before ending up in the back of the Hertha net. The visitors pushed for another equaliser, but could not find a way through.

Freiburg's Nils Petersen (c.) opened the scoring as the Black Forest side beat European hopefuls Hertha Berlin on Saturday. - 2019 Getty Images

Match stats

• Hertha have been specialists at coming from behind to rescue points this season, doing so on six occasions (two wins, four draws) and very nearly adding a seventh against Freiburg.
• Lustenberger made his 300th appearance for Hertha.
• This was the first time this year that Freiburg had fielded the same starting XI in back-to-back matches.
• 19-year-old defender Nico Schlotterbeck made his first appearance for Freiburg. His older brother Kevin made his Bundesliga debut just five weeks ago.
• Petersen scored his fifth goal of the Rückrunde, nearly twice as many as he managed in the first half of the season (three).
• Freiburg once again scored from a corner; the fifth time they’ve done so this year.

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Line-ups

Freiburg: Schwolow - Kübler (Stenzel 30’), Lienhart (Schlotterbeck 46’), Heintz, Günter - Haberer, Frantz (c), Abrashi, Grifo - Petersen, Waldschmidt (Gondorf 89’)
Unused subs: Flekken, Niederlechner, Höler, Terrazzino
Out: Gulde (hamstring), Höfler (knee), Kath (groin), Kleindienst (knee), Koch (knee), Sallai (groin)
Coach: Christian Streich

Hertha: Jarstein - Klünter, Stark, Torunarigha, Rekik - Grujic, Lustenberger (Maier 46’), Mittelstädt (Jastrzembski 63’) - Duda - Ibisevic (c), Kalou
Unused subs: Kraft, Pekarik, Skjelbred, Plattenhardt, Dardai
Out: Darida (thigh), Kade (ankle), Köpke (knee), Luckassen (ankle), Selke (hip)
Coach: Pal Dardai

About the clubs

Sport-Club Freiburg

Europa-Park Stadion

Hertha BSC

Olympiastadion