Freiburg coast to victory over toothless Union Berlin
| Freiburg celebrate Yuito Suzuki’s goal vs. Union Berlin | Photo by Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images |
Another convincing performance saw Freiburg make it four consecutive wins in all competitions, as Schuster’s men claimed a straightforward victory at the Europa-Park Stadion despite an inspired display from Union goalkeeper Frederik Rønnow.
Freiburg took control from the outset, enjoying 64% possession inside the opening 15 minutes. Derry Scherhant came closest to breaking the deadlock early on, cutting in from the left before firing towards goal, but Rønnow was equal to his effort.
Union struggled to settle into the contest and establish any meaningful foothold, with Freiburg continuing to dictate proceedings. The hosts came particularly close to opening the scoring in the 37th minute when Yuito Suzuki received the ball inside the penalty area and unleashed a strike towards goal, only for Rønnow to produce another important save and ensure the sides went into the break level.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Freiburg maintaining their dominance. It took just ten minutes after the restart for the hosts to finally make their pressure count. Niklas Beste received the ball out wide before driving towards the byline and squaring across goal, where Union captain Rani Khedira inadvertently turned the ball into his own net.
Union were unable to muster any meaningful response, and Freiburg effectively put the game beyond reach in the 67th minute. Scherhant drove forward deep inside the visitors’ half before threading a pass through to Suzuki, who took the ball around Rønnow and calmly lifted it over the goalkeeper to double Freiburg’s advantage.
The hosts then had an opportunity to add further gloss to the scoreline from the penalty spot after András Schäfer brought down Keisuke Goto inside the area. However, Rønnow continued his impressive individual performance by denying substitute Vincenzo Grifo from twelve yards to keep the score at 2-0.
Despite the missed penalty, Freiburg comfortably saw out the remaining minutes, including five minutes of added time, to secure another convincing victory and head into the international break in excellent form.
For Union Berlin, meanwhile, the defeat extends their winless run in all competitions to five matches, with Mauro Lustrinelli’s side needing to find a response after a disappointing performance.
