Hoffenheim beat Freiburg in clash of overachievers

The hosts dominated the first-half, but Freiburg were lucky enough to avoid two clear-cut chances as the teams went into the halftime break goalless. Andrej Kramarić’s superb strike in the fifth minute was annulled because of an offside call, while there was also a close call at the closing stage of the half.

Robin Hranac saw his effort ricochet off the crossbar after Noah Atubolu denied fellow center-back Ozan Kabak. At the other end, Oliver Baumann only had to make a single save in the first 45 minutes against his old club. The record-breaking goalkeeper stopped Derry Scherhant’s effort at the midpoint of the first-half.

With Lars Voßler leading the side for the suspended Julian Schuster, who could’ve only watched from the stands, Freiburg had the worst imaginable start after the break. Fisnik Asllani scored with a brilliant header from the pinpoint delivery by the lively Vladimír Coufal inside the first minute of the second-half.

Five minutes later, Coufal provided another assist as Kabak beat Atubolu this time around as Hoffenheim scored from a corner-kick for the first time this season. Atubolu continued to be the busiest goalkeeper with Hoffenheim controlling the proceedings.

Substitutes Alexander Prass and Valentin Gendrey combined to put the cherry on the cake with Hoffenheim's third goal in the 95th minute. Having come on a minute earlier for only his sixth game of the season, Gendrey scored his first goal from 20 meters out. 

Hoffenheim will travel to Köln next weekend, while Freiburg face Borussia Mönchengladbach in hopes of extending an unbeaten home record to 15 games.