SCF kicked off Matchday 14 of the Bundesliga with their final home game of 2024. The coaching staff made just one change from the draw away to Hoffenheim. Vincenzo Grifo came in for Nicolas Höfler, and Grifo and Christian Günter renewed their familiar and formidable partnership on the left flank. The two linked up to fashion a chance after just six minutes, this time from the right, when Grifo set up Günter to put a cross into the box. Matthias Ginter got his head to it but couldn’t get enough power on the ball.

SC were forced to take the initiative in the early stages. The visitors were patient, sat back and looked to launch some of their well-known counterattacks. “They have enormous quality when it comes to transitions,” Julian Schuster had warned ahead of the game. It was therefore not surprising when VfL’s first opportunity came from one of these transitions. SCF lost the ball and it was then immediately played through the defence into Mohammed Amoura, who was in in goal. Noah Atubolu made himself big and saved brilliantly to prevent Wolfsburg from taking an early lead (14’).

Confident SC take the lead

Freiburg had their first good chance three minutes later. Wolfsburg were unable to clear a cross, allowing Doan to hit a volley from around 12 yards out. This time though, it was VfL ‘keeper Kamil Grabara’s turn to make an excellent save. After 22 minutes, there had not been too many goalscoring opportunities, but the ones there had been were very good. Atubolu was called into action again by a Konstantinos Koulierakis header, but made another strong stop to turn it wide of the post.

This was a good and lively Bundesliga match. SCF were playing well, confident and full of ideas. The crowd were on their feet in the 35th minute when Günter looked for Lucas Höler in the box. Instead of striking it himself though, Höler left it and the Wolfsburg defence were able to clear. Just like against Hoffenheim, it was not from open play but from a set piece that Freiburg took a deserved lead. In the 42nd minute, Wolfsburg were unable to get Grifo’s corner away, and Kübler pounced in the six-yard box to hammer home the opener. “In the first half, we remained patient and played with courage,” said Schuster after the match.

Kübler at the double

The visiting goalkeeper had to make another stop straight after half time. Doan carried the ball into the box before trying his luck, but Grabara saved well. The second goal did come though – just five minutes later in fact. Once again, it was from a corner, and once again, it was Kübler who reacted quickest in the six-yard box. His header bounced in off the underside of the bar (51’). Kübler now had his second brace of the season under his belt. SC were enjoying themselves, and kept on going. Grifo danced into the box and struck it with his right foot, but his curling effort was narrowly wide (52’).

Kübler wasn’t just causing trouble in attack, but was also mopping things up defensively. It seemed that it was his game – and it was Freiburg’s game too. The Wolves were unable to get any kind of foothold in the match at the start of the second half, while SCF came out all guns blazing and made it 3-0 in the 61st minute. Doan’s inch-perfect cross from the right was nodded in by Michael Gregoritsch. The stadium erupted, and it was even praised by Wolfsburg head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl: “The goal was really well-crafted, and Gregoritsch did brilliantly after a great cross from Doan.”

Wind beats Atubolu

Wolfsburg continued to struggle, but were still able to create danger. In the 69th minute, Mattias Svanberg was free in the penalty area and inches away from finding the net. The match was going well for SC, though Schuster was unhappy about one or two refereeing decisions. Two of his substitutes then came close to creating a fourth goal. Eren Dinkci played it in towards Merlin Röhl, who was making a run into the box, but he was unable to get a touch on the ball (73’).

Jonas Wind got one back in the 75th minute, beginning what was a more dramatic end to the game than SCF were hoping for. Wind finished with a well-placed shot on the turn. Höler almost restored the three-goal cushion straight away. After an excellent solo run into the box, he was denied first by the bar, and then by Grabara who tipped his header over (78’). VfL were now back in the game and into their best spell of the match. In the 83rd minute, Svanberg reduced the deficit to just one with a spectacular overhead kick.

A nerve-shredding last few minutes

It was now very tense on the touchline. Schuster and his coaches issued instructions to the players, who looked to wrap the game up on the counter in the final stages, particularly with the pace of Röhl. Wolfsburg piled forward via long balls into the box. During the five-minute period of injury time, SCF played a short corner to eat up some time, but the visitors won the ball back quickly and advanced towards goal. Atubolu firstly saved well after a powerful shot from Maximilian Arnold, before the header from the resulting corner went over the bar.

It was a nerve-shredding final few minutes. After the double chance for VfL, SC thought they had scored at the other end just before full time. Höler looked to have made it 4-2 after a solo run, and all of his teammates ran to him to celebrate, including the substitutes. The goal however was chalked off, as the ball touched Höler’s arm as he went past Grabara. It didn’t matter in the end though, as Freiburg earned their second successive home win. Schuster was “very happy” with this result. “We let the game slip out of our grasp a bit after we went 3-0 up, but at the end of the day, we’ve just beaten a very strong side.” Double-scoring hero Kübler added: “Home wins are just great, especially ones like today.”

Photo: Achim Keller