“We had the momentum on our side today,” stated Streich after the fifth win of the campaign. “We scored both goals at exactly the right times. It wasn’t an undeserved win, but we do have to work on some things. We played a strong Wolfsburg team and had the luck on our side.”

Cautious opening

SC made one change from the team that drew 1-1 with RB Leipzig last weekend. Lukas Kübler recovered from illness to return to the side, replacing Kiliann Sildillia, who made his debut in that draw.

For the hosts, Mark Van Bommel brought in Paulo Otavio and Josuha Guilavogui for Dodi Lukebakio and Jérôme Roussillon after their 3-1 defeat at RB Salzburg in the Champions League in midweek.

With just 10,251 fans in attendance, it took a while for the game to really get going. VfL, winless in seven games, looked to build play up slowly, while Freiburg also didn’t begin the match at their best.

Special goal for Lienhart

Aside from two yellow cards for Wolfsburg, there was little to report from the first 25 minutes. With the first real dangerous moment of the game, SC took the lead in front of the 350 travelling fans. On his 100th Bundesliga appearance, Philipp Lienhart had a shot saved from Vincenzo Grifo’s free-kick, but was able to score the rebound (27’). The goal was checked for offside, however VAR approved it and it was therefore 1-0 for SC.

With the deadlock now broken, the game started to come to life as both teams had good chances. Firstly, Lukas Nmecha headed into Mark Flekken’s arms from close range (29’), then the new signing from Manchester City hit the bar with a powerful strike (36’). After that, Lucas Höler (30’) and Vincenzo Grifo (35’) both missed opportunities to make it 2-0.

Referee Tobias Welz was again in the spotlight in the first half. Koen Casteels brought down Lukas Kübler in the box, however after watching back a replay, Welz didn’t give a penalty for some reason (32’).

Höler scores to relieve the Wolfsburg pressure

SCF went back out for the second half with an unchanged eleven, and as Wolfsburg began to increase the pressure, Streich’s men found it difficult to create anything in possession. Too many passes after the restart were picked off by the opposition. Freiburg’s defensive work was the only saving grace. The players showed good concentration to keep Wolfsburg at bay and starve the hosts of serious chances at an equaliser. The only exception: a Lukas Nmecha shot in the 60th minute which found the back of the net, but was correctly pulled back for a hand ball in the build-up. 

Ten minutes later, the last thing anyone in the ground expected was for Freiburg to double their lead, as Wolfsburg looked destined to level things up sooner rather than later. A counter attack down the left hand side via Christian Günter found its way into the middle where a first-time finish from Höler gave SCF a two-goal cushion. From a tactical point of view, perfect timing.

The unexpected nature of Freiburg's second goal proved too great a setback for Mark van Bommel’s Wolves, who struggled to get to grips with the aggressive SCF players, now with momentum on their side. Streich’s men took control of the last 20 minutes and kept the game well away from their defensive third, seeing out Freiburg’s third away win of the season.

After nine games, SC Freiburg remain unbeaten and find themselves third in the league with 19 points on the board. Before they get the chance to extend this run against Greuther Fürth next Saturday, the boys will take on VfL Osnabrück (away) in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday night.

Photo: Fabian Bimmer