Usually when two of the Bundesliga’s top three meet, the German media dubs it a Topspiel or a “top match”. SC Freiburg and 1. FC Union Berlin had the honours this time to round off 2022’s Bundesliga fixtures, although it was the hosts who really did the game’s tagline justice.

SC set the tone after just 35 seconds. A long ball from Philipp Lienhart found the run of Christian Günter, whose cross to Ritsu Doan provided the first chance of the game. His header lacked the power to beat Lennart Grill, however, referee Deniz Aytekin was informed by VAR that Christopher Trimmel had touched the ball with his hand, and Vincenzo Grifo was given the opportunity to open the scoring from the penalty spot. He kept his cool and duly made it 1-0 after four minutes.

Two minutes later, the Italian picked off a square pass in midfield and broke forward, with him and Michael Gregoritsch suddenly finding themselves in two against one, but the Austrian still had to deliver a magnificent pass to leave Grifo only needing to tap the ball in for his second.

Knoche misses from the spot, Grifo bags a hat-trick

It was a breathtaking opening few minutes for the 33,800 spectators at the Europa-Park Stadion, and the action didn’t stop there. Nicolas Höfler was unlucky to clip the heels of Sheraldo Becker as he chased him down in the box, meaning Aytekin pointed to the spot for the second time after only eight minutes. Centre-back Robin Knoche stepped up, only to thunder his penalty against the post.

Like for the 3-1 defeat in Leipzig during the week, the Freiburg coaching staff had opted for a back-three against Union. Chicco Höfler played as a holding midfielder in front of the defence, allowing Yannik Keitel to drift in between Grifo and Ritsu Doan going forward.

The 22-year-old was involved a key moment in the game too after 19 minutes, with Keitel playing Doan in down the right flank. The Japan international drove the ball to the edge of the six-yard box, before being bundled over by Diogo Leite. As he was the last man, the referee had no choice but to show the Union defender a red card and award his third penalty of the game. Grifo was the man given the responsibility once again, and he made no mistake, wrapping up a hat-trick after just 20 minutes.

Gregoritsch adds another before the break

After a wild opening period, Freiburg began to slow the game down somewhat. Union, who had won four of the last seven meetings between the sides, were still clearly rattled though. A prime example was Knoche’s unforced error to hand SC a corner, playing the ball straight out a good 40 yards away from his own goal under very little pressure. Urs Fischer’s side were praying for the half-time whistle, but the home side managed to make the visiting boss’ team talk even more difficult before the break when Gregoritsch made it 4-0 in stoppage time with a sublime lob.

SC head coach Christian Streich summed up the first half after the game: “We played that first ball, a wonderful pass from Philipp Lienhart, because we wanted to get in behind Union. It was a perfect one, and we ended up going ahead. We had another perfect attack, then Ritsu does a great job and suddenly it’s eleven against ten. Then we had another great attack and we’re 4-0 up. That’s football for you.”

The Berliners made a defensive change at the break, bringing on Paul Jaeckel for top scorer Sheraldo Becker, and set up in a far more compact 5-3-1 formation that didn’t allow much room for SC to play through, in spite of their man advantage. The second half lacked the action of its predecessor as a result, but the atmosphere in the stands arguably improved as the home fans turned up the party vibes to and celebrated what has been an incredible first half of the season in all three competitions.

Christian Streich added after the match: “As a coach, you want control, and that’s what we had for the most part. The lads have played a heck of a lot of games. It’s a perfect day for us and an extraordinary match, the likes of which I’ve never experienced before.”

There was little that could spoil the mood, even when Aytekin awarded his fourth penalty of the day five minutes from time for a pull on Daniljo Doekji by Keitel, and Sven Michel converted for a consolation goal.

The 4-1 win moves Freiburg up to second in the Bundesliga table – something for the club and its fans to savour, although they’ve been doing that for two months now. The Bundesliga returns for SC on 21st January 2023 in Wolfsburg, with the DFB-Pokal final on 7th February at Sandhausen and our opponents in the last 16 of the Europa League set to be unveiled on 24th February. There’s plenty to look forward to next year, that’s for sure.

Photo: Achim Keller