There were no gifts for SC Freiburg in Leverkusen, even though it was four days before Christmas Day. SC started well, with Noah Atubolu saving a penalty, but B04 found their shooting boots in the second half and victory was all but theirs with 15 minutes still to play.

In the primetime fixture of matchday 15, SC head coach Julian Schuster named an unchanged starting XI to the side that emerged victorious against VfL Wolfsburg last week. Referee Tobias Stieler halted proceedings in the third minute due to a thick layer of smoke from flares set off in the crowd covering the pitch and preventing a clear view of the game. Leverkusen were quicker to hit their stride once again after the short break and had two big chances to take the lead with their first attack. First, Florian Wirtz’s shot took a crucial deflection off Matthias Ginter. The ball landed at Edmond Tapsoba’s feet from the resulting corner, but fortunately for the away side the centre-back fired over from close range (7’).

Lienhart hits the bar, Atubolu saves spot-kick

Freiburg had their first look at goal through Vincenzo Grifo in the ninth minute, but he was likewise denied by a deflection. The Leverkusen fans held their breath a short while later as Philipp Lienhart lined up a shot from around 20 yards out, though his effort clattered off the bar. It was an energetic start to the game and Freiburg were playing with freedom. Maximilian Eggestein had the chance to put SCF ahead following a free kick. Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky was not troubled too much by his header, however, and made the save comfortably (14’). Ritsu Doan tried his luck from a similar distance to Lienhart a couple of minutes later but, like the centre-back, was only off the mark by a matter of centimetres.

SC were looking impressive following a lively start, and Julian Schuster was geeing his side up from the touchline. The hosts were struggling to break down Freiburg’s backline, though they found some joy finding gaps in the defence with pinpoint line-breaking passes. Patrik Schick found himself in space at the edge of the box and let fly. Noah Atubolu had no problem saving the shot, though (23’).

After 30 minutes’ play, Leverkusen caught the visitors off-guard with a long ball over the top. Doan’s tackle on Wirtz in the box was late, Leverkusen’s midfield maestro went down, and the referee pointed to the spot. Wirtz stepped up to take the penalty himself and opted for the bottom-left corner. Atubolu guessed right and came out on top, saving the penalty and keeping the scores level.

Bayer take the lead

At the other end of the pitch, Lucas Höler could not keep his cool in front of goal. He blocked an attempt to clear the danger and found himself in a promising position to put his side in front. However, the ball trickled over his foot and flew wide of the goal (34’). Even though the ball was not a rare sight in the Leverkusen box, the home side mainly kept possession. That being said, their final product was missing for the most part. Jeremie Frimpong was visibly irritated after his long shot in the 40th minute was straight at Atubolu.

When Leverkusen did find themselves in acres of space for the first time – first Wirtz in midfield, then Schick at the edge of the box – the reigning Bundesliga champions did not hesitate and drew first blood in the contest. Schick latched onto Wirtz’s pass and chipped the ball over Atubolu to give his side the lead (45+2’). “If you give them a bit of space, they’re clinical,” acknowledged Schuster after the game.

Wirtz doubles the lead before Grifo gets one back

Freiburg had an opportunity at the start of the second period, with Eggestein teeing Gregoritsch up. The Austria international went to ground after making contact with an opposition defender, but the referee waved away shouts for a penalty and the game continued. Shortly afterwards, Leverkusen had their second. B04’s players combined nicely with their famous short passes in the Freiburg box and the ball landed at Wirtz’s feet. The midfielder smashed the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-0 (51’). 

There was still life in the game and SCF remained undeterred. Four minutes after Wirtz extended Bayer’s advantage, the ball was played into Vincenzo Grifo who curled the ball past Hradecky into the corner for the perfect response. The two quickfire goals opened the game up somewhat, with sloppy turnovers disrupting the flow of the game and simple passes going wayward. Leverkusen would punish the Freiburg defenders’ carelessness. Ginter did not go up for a header after a corner and Schick called his bluff to make it 3-1 (67’). SCF almost responded quickly to the third goal, too. Günter’s cross looked to be heading straight for substitute Merlin Röhl at the back post before B04 cleared at the last moment.

Schick scores four

SC were still in the game, as Grifo hit woodwork in the 73rd minute, but the hosts were not in the mood for further drama. Schick in particular could not seem to miss in front of goal, completing his hat-trick in the 74th minute before adding a fourth to his tally three minutes later. He made it 4-1 to Leverkusen with a powerful strike and headed home for the Werkself’s fifth.

The game was all but over for SCF as the home side kept possession in their ranks and deprived Freiburg of any further shots on goal. The SCF fans did not let the disappointing result stop them from celebrating the team. Schuster was clear in explaining the defeat: “Losing 5-1 is hard. But the start of the game went exactly as we envisioned it. We were on top of Leverkusen in the moments that we wanted to be on top of them in. That being said, Leverkusen are just a good team. If I was ten years old, I’d get a Flo Wirtz shirt immediately. You can learn a lot from watching Leverkusen.”

Starting on 2nd January, Freiburg will prepare for the second half of the season in Sotogrande (Spain) after the winter break. SC will welcome Holstein Kiel to the Europa-Park-Stadion on 11th January to restart their Bundesliga campaign.

Photo: DeFodi Images