Like all Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga clubs, SCF took part in the Remembrance Day in German football. The home game against FC Bayern saw the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp marked in various ways.

When the match got underway, the around 34,700 spectators at the Europa-Park Stadion saw the visitors start with intent, after taking a few minutes to settle into the game. In the 13th minute, Jamal Musiala advanced forward in the middle and struck the post from around 18 yards out. Noah Atubolu would have been left with no chance.

Freiburg made six changes from the 4-0 defeat at Stuttgart, as Noah Atubolu, Philipp Lienhart, Jordy Makengo, Chicco Höfler, Eren Dinkci and Lucas Höler all came in. Florian Müller, Matthias Ginter, Christian Günter, Vincenzo Grifo and Junior Adamu started on the bench, while Patrick Osterhage missed out entirely because of muscle problems.

Kane with a powerful opener

Bayern were keen to get back to winning ways after a difficult midweek. They suffered a 3-0 UEFA Champions League loss to Feyenoord on Wednesday, meaning they could very well face a play-off to get through to the round of 16. Maybe Harry Kane channelled some of his anger after this result into his finish on 15 minutes. After being played in by Eric Dier, he turned past Philipp Lienhart before hammering into the far corner from around 15 yards out. His shot was measured at a speed of 121 kilometres per hour.

Jordy Makengo was named in the SC starting eleven in the Bundesliga for the first time this season. In the 26th minute, Bayern allowed him too much space down the left. He put a dangerous cross into the box, but there were no takers in an SCF shirt. This was one of just two forays forward from the home side in the first half. In the 43rd minute, Ritsu Doan got on the ball following a corner and pulled back a low cross into the middle, but couldn’t find a teammate. However, Vincent Kompany’s side also struggled to create any further clearcut chances. It remained 1-0 at the break.

Ginter on at half time but Bayern double lead from a corner

Both sides had to make changes around the 45-minute mark due to injury. Before the break, Bayern brought on Josip Stanisic to replace Leon Goretzka (40’), while on the opposite side, Matthias Ginter came on for Max Rosenfelder, who was suffering from a thigh muscle issue. Ginter was involved soon after in the 53rd minute, when he cleared Kane’s fizzed cross off the toes of Musiala.

Unfortunately though, the resulting corner saw the visitors net their second goal of the afternoon. Joshua Kimmich delivered towards the near post, where Kim Min-jae got in front of Noah Atubolu, and the goalkeeper couldn’t get enough on the ball to prevent the header going in. Soon after, Serge Gnabry fired just wide from a good position (58’).

An eventful end to the game

Freiburg were determined not to throw in the towel, and went on the attack. In the 65th minute, Lucas Höler tested Manuel Neuer with a header from Lukas Kübler’s cross. Three minutes later, Höler advanced into the former Germany goalkeeper’s penalty area once again and found Röhl with an excellent cross towards the far post. His header was deflected wide for a corner. This did bear fruit. Ginter met Doan’s ball-in perfectly to turn past Neuer with a combination of head and shoulder (68’).

“We know how loud the crowd get here, even just when you win a challenge,” said Matthias Ginter after the game when describing the atmosphere in the final stages. The fans in the stands willed their team forward, and SCF kept on fighting. The record German champions took every opportunity to run down the clock, and with the arrivals of Michael Olise and Kingsley Coman, they had enough pace on the field to threaten on the counter. In the 87th minute, fellow substitute Junior Adamu helped a Lienhart cross into the six-yard box, and Kimmich had to clear at the crucial moment.

“It was no accident that we managed to make it so the game was still in the balance until the final whistle,” said SC head coach Schuster after full time. “It was important to put in a performance we can build on. We got through so much work and did lots of running. That was the right attitude.”

The visitors were under pressure, and were almost exclusively pinned back into their own half in the final few minutes. Even Harry Kane had to contribute defensively when he cleared the ball away from Michael Gregoritsch when the latter was about to let fly (90+2’). On 95 minutes, referee Daniel Siebert awarded a foul from Adamu on Dier as Freiburg launched one final attack, and then blew the final whistle. SCF remain on 27 points, and will look to get back to winning ways in Bochum next Saturday (15:30 CET).

Photo: Achim Keller