Late rally helps Augsburg past Freiburg
Freiburg - FC Augsburg bounced back from their first loss in nine last weekend, to register a 4-2 win on the road against relegation-threatened SC Freiburg.
Snatch and grab
Both sides seemed happy to throw caution to the wind during the opening exchanges, investing a lot of energy trying to push forward, but it was the visitors who profited first. Andre Hahn managed to clip Halil Altintop’s pass over Freiburg’s back four where Tobias Werner was on hand to fire the ball beyond Oliver Baumann.
However, the lead lasted just under ten minutes when Daniel Baier brought down Vladimir Darida, allowing Jonathan Schmid to score for a third straight home game with a sublime effort that curled over the wall and into the top corner from the ensuing free-kick. The pace of proceedings showed no sign of dwindling with both sides pumping the ball long in an attempt to unsettle their opponents, yet with Admir Mehmedi and Schmid firing wide, neither could add to the scoreline before the break.
With the rain pouring down in the MAGE Solar Arena there was a greater sense of urgency being produced by the hosts after the restart with Mehmedi and Darida both causing Augsburg’s backline problems. Dong-Won Ji twice went close to scoring against the run of play, but the pressure finally told with just over 15 minutes remaining when Mehmedi slammed home a half-volley from the edge of the area to hand Freiburg a deserved lead.
The goal only served to spark Augsburg into action as, five minutes later, Hahn slid the ball into the path of Paul Verhaegh, who demonstrated great composure as his shot nestled in the far corner of the net. Altintop then added a third, popping up unmarked at the back post to slot the ball into the back of the net before Hahn's effort from long-range completed the comeback to return Augsburg to winning ways.
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