Nils Petersen spot on as Freiburg claim valuable win over Bremen
Freiburg opened up a five-point gap between themselves and bogey-team Werder Bremen with a 1-0 win over the northerners on Saturday afternoon.
Freiburg 1-0 Bremen
Goal: 1-0 Petersen (pen. 24')
In miserable weather at the Schwarzwald-Stadion it was Freiburg, who had lost seven of their last nine home games against Werder, that managed to establish a grip on proceedings in the first half. Despite the slippery surface caused by falling snow, they made the most of their openings in attack to deservedly go into the interval a goal to the good, Nils Petersen converting a penalty - his 50th Bundesliga goal - after Aron Johansson's foul on Marco Terrazzino.
In the second period, Bremen's play possessed more zip and a higher tempo, and Thomas Delaney fizzed a shot over from Ishak Belfodil's lay-off. Bremen's control of the ball was almost absolute as the game's final stages approached, but they could find no way past a determined home reargard. The hosts were gifted an opportunity to seal the points when Petersen was fouled and another penalty awarded, but Janik Haberer missed the target. It could have been a costly mistake, but Christian Streich's team managed to hold on to move five points clear of the relegation play-off spot.
Match stats
- Nils Petersen's penalty was his 50th Bundesliga goal.Werder’s record against Freiburg is better than against any other current Bundesliga team. They have won 21, drawn six and lost eight of their Bundesliga matches against the home side.Freiburg have prevented the Green-Whites from scoring in just five of their 35 meetings.Since Freiburg were first promoted to the Bundesliga in 1993, Werder have had more away wins against them than against any other team (11). They have won on seven of their last nine visits to the Schwarzwald-Stadion, including last season when Delaney scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 success.Before the sides’ last league meeting on Matchday 6, neither team had won a game. That match finished 0-0, but Werder made home advantage count with a 3-2 win when they met again in the last 16 of the DFB Cup.Petersen joined Christian Streich's team from Werder in 2015. He scored 18 goals in 69 matches for the Green-Whites.Max Kruse spent the 2012/13 season with Freiburg, and played in all 34 of their Bundesliga matches. He scored 11 goals and made eight more, and at the end of the campaign he was called up by Germany for the first time as Freiburg qualified for the Europa League.
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Line-ups
Freiburg: Schwolow – Gulde, Söyüncü, Stenzel (Kübler 85') – Terrazzino (Kleindienst 69'), Abrashi, Koch, Haberer, Günter – Höler (Kath 77'), Petersen (c)
Unused subs: Gikiewicz, Lienhart, Schuster, Stanko
Absentees: Niederlechner (knee), Ravet (Achilles), Frantz (knee)
Coach: Christian Streich
Bremen: Pavlenka - Gebre Selassie, Veljkovic, Moisander, Augustinsson – Bargfrede (Gondorf 77'), M. Eggestein (Belfodil 64') – Johannsson (Rashica 74'), Kainz, Delaney – Kruse (c)
Unused subs: Drobny, Friedl, Langkamp, Bauer
Absentees: Zetterer (hand), Bartels (Achilles), Verlaat (back), Zheng (leg), Eilers (knee), Junuzovic (thigh)
Coach: Florian Kohfeldt
As it happened