Freiburg stun Bayern to land crucial win in relegation scrap
Freiburg - SC Freiburg gave their hopes of beating the drop a timely boost thanks to a sensational 2-1 victory at home to FC Bayern München.
Schweinsteiger’s cool finish
Bastian Schweinsteiger gave the visitors the lead 13 minutes in, but Freiburg fought back bravely, with goals from Admir Mehmedi and substitute Nils Petersen giving them an unlikely win against the confirmed Bundesliga winners.
Boosted by a 3-2 victory over FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, Bayern started the game confidently, dominating both possession and territory at the Schwarzwald-Stadion, with Mario Götze, back in the Bavarians’ starting XI, missing their first chance from the edge of the area.
Pep Guardiola’s men were pressing Freiburg high up the pitch and leaving them little room to breathe. Medhi Benatia had a headed goal ruled out for a foul, but Schweinsteiger made sure of the opening goal soon afterwards, slotting home from close range on his 500th competitive appearance for the club.
Freiburg respond
It was the wake-up call Freiburg needed, however, and the home side began to find a way into the game approaching the half-hour mark. Left-back Christian Günter fired off a warning shot from distance, before the home side found a deserved leveller. Felix Klaus did well to win possession from Schweinsteiger and tee up Mehmedi and the Swiss striker fired low and hard into the corner from 20 yards.
Despite Freiburg’s positive efforts, however, Bayern remained the dominant side, and the now 24-time Bundesliga winners should have regained the lead when Götze, with only Roman Bürki to beat, could only fire against the keeper's outstretched foot.
Petersen scores late
Pep Guardiola, unwilling to settle for merely a share of the spoils in the Black Forest, introduced Thomas Müller for Xabi Alonso in an attempt to add fresh impetus to his side’s attack. They came close to a winner 20 minutes from time, the influential Schweinsteiger denied a second goal of the afternoon when his free-kick bounced off the crossbar.
Both Götze and Juan Bernat then tested Bürki with long-range efforts, but Freiburg, knowing victory would give them a potentially priceless boost in their bid to stay up, were rewarded in stoppage time for a courageous display, as Karim Guede set up Petersen to bury the winner - against his former club - and take Christian Streich's team to 14th in the table with one game to play.
Line-ups and statistics
Felix Seaman-Höschele
