SC Freiburg picked up a huge three points en route to the race to finish in a spot which would allow them to play in the Europa League next year. The Breisgau outfit triumphed 2-0 thanks to a brace from Florian Niederlechner (22’, 31’) on Matchday 32, thereby climbing into fifth place. Unlike Schalke, who are in 10th place 41 points, the newly promoted side can aspire to end the season in a Europa League place. Niederlechner also found himself on the scoresheet in the 1-1 reverse fixture.
Despite having the lion’s share of possession in the game, the Schalke XI failed to cause any real trouble for SC Freiburg in front of goal. The Breisgau outfit, who were missing captain Mike Frantz, Caglar Söyüncü, and Marc Torrejon, came out defensively to start the game – a tactic that proved to be very successful, as their opponents didn’t even have a chance at goal 15 minutes into the game.
With the defense sorted, Freiburg ramped up their efforts when it came to attacking the other side of the pitch – and the decisions to do was rewarded instantaneously. Niederlechner was set up by Jannik Haberer for his tenth goal of the season, and the Schalke defense looked visibly irritated about it.
Niederlechner makes it 2-0 from the spot
Eleven minutes later, the man who started the season with SC Freiburg as a loanee from league rivals FSV Mainz 05, but signed as a permanent transfer during the week, found the back of the net again. This time, the 26-year-old striker did so from the penalty spot. Moments earlier, Sead Kolasinac slid in on Freiburg’s Maximilian Philipp, and referee Robert Kampka pointed to the spot. Schalke failed to create anything of note before the whistle for half-time was blown.
Weinzierl didn’t hide the fact he was going on the offensive after the restart, as he brought on poacher Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as a replacement for Benjamin Stambouli, but the change couldn’t produce the desired effect. Freiburg remained a threat on the counter in contrast to the toothless guests. With an hour played, SCF still looked more likely to bag the game’s third goal.
It took 65 minutes for Schalke to create a genuine chance of note, when Leon Goretzka tested SC keeper Alexander Schwolow from range, but nothing more came of the situation – instead, substitute Nils Petersen could have put the game to bed on two occasions (70’ and 73’), but was unable to. Niederlechner came off to thunderous applause in the 75th minute, but ultimately, it was another fantastic performance all-round from Freiburg as they saw out the game for all three points.
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SC Freiburg picked up a huge three points en route to the race to finish in a spot which would allow them to play in the Europa League next year. The Breisgau outfit triumphed 2-0 thanks to a brace from Florian Niederlechner (22’, 31’) on Matchday 32, thereby climbing into fifth place. Unlike Schalke, who are in 10th place 41 points, the newly promoted side can aspire to end the season in a Europa League place. Niederlechner also found himself on the scoresheet in the 1-1 reverse fixture.
Despite having the lion’s share of possession in the game, the Schalke XI failed to cause any real trouble for SC Freiburg in front of goal. The Breisgau outfit, who were missing captain Mike Frantz, Caglar Söyüncü, and Marc Torrejon, came out defensively to start the game – a tactic that proved to be very successful, as their opponents didn’t even have a chance at goal 15 minutes into the game.
With the defense sorted, Freiburg ramped up their efforts when it came to attacking the other side of the pitch – and the decisions to do was rewarded instantaneously. Niederlechner was set up by Jannik Haberer for his tenth goal of the season, and the Schalke defense looked visibly irritated about it.
Niederlechner makes it 2-0 from the spot
Eleven minutes later, the man who started the season with SC Freiburg as a loanee from league rivals FSV Mainz 05, but signed as a permanent transfer during the week, found the back of the net again. This time, the 26-year-old striker did so from the penalty spot. Moments earlier, Sead Kolasinac slid in on Freiburg’s Maximilian Philipp, and referee Robert Kampka pointed to the spot. Schalke failed to create anything of note before the whistle for half-time was blown.
Weinzierl didn’t hide the fact he was going on the offensive after the restart, as he brought on poacher Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as a replacement for Benjamin Stambouli, but the change couldn’t produce the desired effect. Freiburg remained a threat on the counter in contrast to the toothless guests. With an hour played, SCF still looked more likely to bag the game’s third goal.
It took 65 minutes for Schalke to create a genuine chance of note, when Leon Goretzka tested SC keeper Alexander Schwolow from range, but nothing more came of the situation – instead, substitute Nils Petersen could have put the game to bed on two occasions (70’ and 73’), but was unable to. Niederlechner came off to thunderous applause in the 75th minute, but ultimately, it was another fantastic performance all-round from Freiburg as they saw out the game for all three points.
