Exactly three weeks separated Freiburg’s trip to Leverkusen and their first match of 2025 against Holstein Kiel. SC were one of only three top-division sides to use some of the holiday period to prepare for the second half of the season at a training camp. “It was the right call to go to Spain. We used the time to talk about how our game has developed,” explained Julian Schuster ahead of the clash against the North German club.

However, the new year almost got off to the worst possible start for Schuster’s side. Directly after the kick-off, Noah Atubolu looked to launch the ball long into the opposition half. The clearance was met by an onrushing Phil Harres, though, and the ball began to trickle ominously towards the Freiburg goal. The sound of groans erupted from the stands, as the goalkeeper and attacker hared towards the ball. The Freiburg shot stopper won the footrace and diverted the ball out for a corner (1’). The next opportunity also fell to Kiel. Finn Portath’s effort did not cause trouble, however, flying just wide of the post (10’).

Remberg scores own goal

Schuster claimed before the match that, “Regardless of their position in the table, Kiel are a tough team to play against who always work their socks off.” He was proven right over the course of the first half, with his team struggling to break down a Kiel side who were more than happy to sit deep and strike on the counter. Freiburg’s first real chance came in the 20th minute, when Vincenzo Grifo whipped a dangerous-looking corner into the box, but none of the Freiburg players were able to latch onto the winger’s delivery. “I don’t think we started or close out the game very well today,” said Schuster after the final whistle. “It took us a while to grow into the game.”

SCF’s coaching staff opted to make three changes to the XI that fell to a resounding 5-1 loss against Bayer Leverkusen before the winter break. Max Rosenfelder replaced Philipp Lienhart, who was absent due to illness, at centre-back. Merlin Röhl came into the side for Patrick Osterhage, lining up alongside Maximilian Eggestein in the middle of the park. Ahead of them, Eren Dincki pulled the strings, with Michael Gregoritsch dropping to the bench. Dincki played a lovely ball through to Maximilian Eggestein, and SCF’s tall midfielder found himself in the Kiel penalty area. On the edge of the six-yard box, he played a ball across the face of goal. In an effort to neutralise the danger, Nicolai Remberg had gone sliding in, but he ended up bundling the ball into his own net to make it 1-0 to SCF (23’).

Power and placement from Günther

In the 38th minute, Harres pushed Lucas Höler over near the corner flag, a few yards outside of the penalty area. Christian Günter stepped up to take the resulting free kick. A delivery into the box looked more inviting than a shot from the position, but SCF’s captain took everyone by surprise by going for goal. His venomous effort clattered off the underside of the crossbar before nestling in the far corner – a wondergoal in every sense of the word, and SCF headed into the break with a 2-0 lead. 

After the interval, SC looked to maintain their two-goal lead by keeping possession. “It goes without saying that the goals helped us. In the second half, we won the ball higher up the pitch more often and carved out better opportunities from those positions,” remarked Schuster in his post-match interview. There was a dearth of chances for both sides at the start of the second half outside of Lucas Höler’s near-post effort in the 55th minute.

With 68 minutes on the clock, Freiburg would threaten to extend their lead. Lukas Kübler tested Timon Weiner with a powerful strike from range. Kiel’s keeper could only parry the ball back into a dangerous area, where Ritsu Doan was lingering. The attacker managed to round Weiner, but the angle he created for the shot was too acute, meaning he could not get his effort on target.

Grifo nets a third before Kiel threaten comeback

Doan once again threatened to add to SCF’s tally as he accelerated and drove into the visitors’ box in the 74th minute. The Japan international reached the byline before chipping a ball in towards the back post, where an unmarked Vincenzo Grifo was waiting. Grifo produced a textbook finish to put Freiburg 3-0 up.

11 minutes later, Kiel converted their first chance of the second half to reduce the deficit. Timo Becker suddenly found himself one-on-one with Atubolu. Freiburg’s number one managed to save his close-range effort but was powerless to prevent Harres from putting away the rebound. Harres threatened to get another goal back shortly after, forcing Atubolu into another save to preserve the hosts’ two-goal advantage. In the 90th minute, the Kiel striker bagged his second, once again poking home from short range.

“It’s actually the best way the game could have gone. We’ve come away with three points and still have things to discuss,” remarked Schuster. Before he could come to this conclusion, Schuster had to watch SCF withstand four minutes of Kiel pressure in a nervy period of added time. Atubolu denied substitute Jann-Fiete Arp in the 91st minute to keep Freiburg ahead and ultimately seal victory for his side, with the referee drawing the game to a close a few minutes afterwards. SCF are back in action on Tuesday, as they round off the first half of their Bundesliga campaign with a trip to Frankfurt (20:30 CET).

Photo: Achim Keller

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