Gotō's late header defeats Schalke and sends 10-man Freiburg top of table
Despite being down to 10 men for the final 25 minutes of the encounter, Freiburg secured a dramatic late win over Schalke at Europa-Park Stadion courtesy of Keisuke Gotō's determined header, a result that propels the Black Forest club to the top of the Bundesliga table.
Freiburg came into this Matchday 5 clash having taken 10 points from their opening four games, a club record, while Schalke arrived unbeaten in three and with the division's joint-stingiest defence, built around goalkeeper Loris Karius, who was making his 100th Bundesliga appearance.
Schalke head coach Miron Muslić made four changes to the side that drew with Elversberg, with Maximilian Wöber, Adrian Gantenbein, Junior Adamu and Moussa Sylla all handed starts.
Eggestein strikes early, Gantenbein equalises
Freiburg got into their stride quickly and broke the deadlock in the 10th minute. Matthias Ginter headed Derry Scherhant's corner goalwards but Karius made an excellent save, only to see Maximilian Eggestein react immediately and poke the loose ball over the line from close range for the opening goal.
The hosts continued to probe, with Igor Matanović denied by a last-ditch block by Hasan Kuruçay. Subsequently, completely against the run of play, Schalke levelled in the 30th minute. Karius punched clear a Robin Gosens corner, but the ball fell nicely to Gantenbein, who drove a deflected effort into the corner of the net for his first Bundesliga goal.
Karius had to be alert again before the break, denying Yannik Engelhardt after a goalmouth scramble, and the sides went in level at 1-1.
Suzuki's red card changes the picture
The second half opened cautiously before Yuito Suzuki was booked in the 49th minute. Schalke grew into the game, with Gosens and captain Kenan Karaman combining dangerously, and Maximilian Wöber headed against the bar from a corner.
In the 64th minute, Suzuki rashly fouled Soufiane El-Faouzi and, as he was already on a yellow, was duly sent off by referee Martin Peterson, leaving Freiburg to play out the remainder of the game with 10 men.
Despite Schalke creating some half-chances, Freiburg held firm at the back and introduced substitutes Vincenzo Grifo and Gotō in the 83rd minute in an attempt to catch their opponents out on the break. And it was those two players who would combine for Freiburg's winner: Grifo crossed from the left and the Japanese international rose in impressive fashion to power a header past Karius for his first-ever Bundesliga goal.
Schalke pushed for a late reply in the closing stages, but Freiburg saw out five added minutes to secure the win and leapfrog Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga standings.
Man of the Match: Maximilian Eggestein
Eggestein opened the scoring with a sharp reaction finish from Ginter's knock-down and was involved in the action throughout on a busy afternoon in midfield, as he covered the most ground of any Freiburg player at 12.3 kilometres. In addition, he topped the Fantasy Manager rankings with 263 points, underlining a display that was central to Freiburg's win.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Freiburg 1.60 - Schalke 0.28
Fastest player: Yuito Suzuki (Freiburg), 34.37 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 1-1 by Adrian Gantenbein (Schalke), 10 percent
Pass efficiency: Niklas Beste (Freiburg), +2.11
Fantasy Heroes: Maximilian Eggestein (Freiburg, 263 Points), Adrian Gantenbein (Schalke, 241 Points), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg, 171 Points)
