Freiburg maintain top-half place in table, defeat Wolfsburg in seven-goal thriller

It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon at the Volkswagen Arena, where VfL Wolfsburg (4-3-7, 13th) played host to SC Freiburg (4-5-5, 9th) in the fifteenth matchweek of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season.

For the hosts, it was the first match of Daniel Bauer’s new contract as the forty-first head coach of Die Wölfe - the second appointment within the club in the last 14 days since Pirmin Schwegler became sporting director. The 43-year-old from Andernach, Rheinland-Pfalz, who has led the under-19 team since January 2022, signed the contract offer at the Volkswagen Arena this afternoon - binding him to the main squad until the end of the 2026/27 season.

As for SC Freiburg, they also went into this match with an impressive recent record in all competitions - a 1-0 victory against RB Salzburg in the UEFA Europa League, and a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund in which they statistically dominated. In both of those matches, they drew a red card for their opponents and played at least a half-hour with an 11v10 advantage.

The first opportunity of this match would also end up being the first goal, as Freiburg jumped in front just four minutes in. A cross into the box from the left side of the Wolfsburg half, courtesy of Yuito Suzuki, deflected off Christian Eriksen and right to Philipp Treu. The 25-year-old German right-back powered a hard shot with his right boot over a leaping Kamil Grabara and straight into the top-right corner to put the visitors in front.

However, it would not even take ten minutes for Bauer’s Wolfsburg to respond - even after conceding the opener, they maintained possession and continued to hold momentum for twenty minutes afterward. Christian Eriksen ran into the right side of the Freiburg half in the eleventh minute, but was cleanly brought down by Patrick Osterhage, who would ultimately take possession.

Two minutes later, Patrick Wimmer would take the ball from Treu on the left side of the midfield, creating a quick 3v3 counter for the hosts; the Austrian international then managed a ground pass to Dženan Pejčinović in the central areas while starting his own run to the edge of the box. Once he enters, he takes the ball from Pejčinović, allowing the German under-21 international to overlap and find his way into the left side of the box. Wimmer then flicks the ball back to Pejčinović and with limited space, Pejčinović chipped the ball above Noah Atubolu and into the top-right corner before executing a perfect celebratory knee slide.

In the twenty-sixth minute, things seemed to shift in favour of Freiburg. An attempted clearance from Jenson Seelt on the left edge of the Wolfsburg penalty area was blocked by Johan Manzambi. Freiburg continued to knock the ball around the edge of the area, with a Lucas Höler pass eventually finding Yuito Suzuki - the Japanese attacking midfielder took a shot past Kamil Grabara, off the inside of the left post, and away from danger.

Lucas Kübler would then generate another chance of his own in the thirty-second minute, before Seelt hoofed the ball away for a corner to the visitors. Johan Manzambi would follow with another shot from the edge of the box that went well over Grabara and into the stands.

Wolfsburg would have the last dangerous chance of the first half, as Lovro Majer would take the ball from Manzambi in the midfield before starting a very similar run to that of the equaliser. Majer would run into the left side of the Freiburg penalty area, hoping to find Patrick Wimmer in the middle of the box with a slicing pass; however, Christian Günter would send the ball away for an eventually unsuccessful corner to the hosts.

Die Wölfe nearly had a scare on that corner, as Jenson Seelt and Konstantinos Koulierakis mistimed their headers and placement, crashing into each other. The two centre-backs were on the ground for a few minutes, being treated by the medical staff; Koulierakis was bandaged and continued the match, while Seelt got up shortly after without needing a bandage of his own.

Sascha Stegemann blew the halftime whistle shortly after, as the two teams went into the break level at a goal apiece. Shots in the first 45 minutes finished 5-3 to Wolfsburg, 2-1 on target, with the hosts holding 53% possession. Wolfsburg had an 85% pass accuracy on 274 passes, compared to 81% on 207 from Freiburg.

The first opportunity of the second half went to Wolfsburg, but not as expected. In his own penalty area, Noah Atubolu thought that Anthony Jung was to his left and made a quick ground pass, but he would quickly find out that it was actually Dženan Pejčinović - who scored probably the easiest goal of his professional career with a tap-in. It was an early Christmas gift for Pejčinović, who had his second of the afternoon - and for Die Wölfe, who took a 2-1 lead as a result.

The holidays are also the season of giving back, and Wolfsburg returned the favour just seven minutes later - Seelt attempted to bring down a cross into the centre of the box but clipped Lucas Höler instead, forcing Stegemann to award a penalty to the visitors. Vincenzo Grifo, who entered the match at the break in place of Osterhage, stepped up to take it - and while Grabara went the right way, Grifo powered it out of his reach into the bottom-right corner to draw Freiburg level. The 32-year-old Germany-born Italian international registered his fifth goal of the season, three of which have come from the spot as the main penalty taker for the Baden-Württemberg side.

Wolfsburg would jump right back in front in the sixty-ninth minute. Patrick Wimmer and Mattias Ginter contested for the ball in the Freiburg half, ultimately sending the ball to Dženan Pejčinović in a one-on-one opportunity. At the edge of the box and with Atubolu well off his line, Pejčinović would slam the ball into the right side of the goal to put Wolfsburg back in front - completing the hat-trick for the 20-year-old München native.

Two minutes after that, Freiburg would draw level once again. A throw-in from Manzambi would deflect off the head of Anthony Jung, off the head of Ginter, and then off Seelt at the goalmouth - rolling past him and Grabara before the Polish goalkeeper could punch the ball off the line. Derry Scherhant, who entered the match for the opening goalscorer Treu, would add a goal of his own in the seventy-eighth minute, receiving a pass from Manzambi on the right side of the box before slamming the ball top-centre above Grabara.

Despite Daniel Bauer bringing on fresh legs to try and force a dramatic late equaliser - including U19 talent Jan Bürger, one of the products of his academy - VfL Wolfsburg were unable to make their opportunities count late, and finished 2025 with a home defeat to SC Freiburg by a final result of four goals to three.

Quite a bit of work will need to be done over the winter break for VfL Wolfsburg, as they start the new year against league leaders and record champions FC Bayern München at the Allianz Arena on Sunday, 11. January; kickoff for that match is at 17:30 (CET) on Sunday, 11. January. As for SC Freiburg, they will visit the Volksparkstadion to face Hamburger SV the day before, with kickoff set for Saturday, 10. January at 15:30 (CET).