Freiburg beat Braunschweig to ease relegation fears

xwhatsappmailcopy-link

Freiburg - SC Freiburg are not out of the woods yet, but Christian Streich’s side can certainly breathe a little easier in their fight against the drop after beating bottom club Eintracht Braunschweig 2-0 at the MAGE Solar Stadion.

Schuster strikes

Just four points separated the teams at kick-off and with matches rapidly running out, both began ferociously in an effort to establish control, with tackles flying in at every opportunity. The hosts gained the upper hand early on when Damir Vrancic headed into his own net from a long throw on eight minutes, and Freiburg continued to look dangerous for most of the first period. Braunschweig had only scored ten on the road prior to this game and their chances of a fightback were not helped when top-scorer Domi Kumbela was forced off with injury.

A bad afternoon swiftly got worse for the visitors shortly after restart. Lions keeper Daniel Davari appeared to have Freiburg captain Julian Schuster’s speculative long-range effort covered, but the ball took a decisive deflection of Ermin Bicakcic, leaving the custodian wrong-footed to give the hosts a 2-0 lead. Dennis Kruppke went closest to a reply for Braunschweig, but his curling free-kick could only kiss the outside of the post.

Davari was called into action several times ensure the hosts did not run away with the game, but Braunschweig were so harmless going forward they never looked like mounting a comeback. The result leaves Freiburg five points clear of the relegation play-off spot, and while the defeat was certainly a setback for the visitors, all is not yet lost as they remain just two points adrift of 16th place.

Line-ups and statistics