SC Freiburg

Michael Gregoritsch started in place of Lucas Höler upfront, and he and the team both had the aim to finally win in the Bundesliga again. After a short delay due to pyrotechnics in the Bochum end, SC initially had to excel in defence because it was the hosts who started more aggressively, let the ball do the running for them, and forced Noah Atubolu into a save after 14 minutes. Keven Schlotterbeck shot from the edge of the box and SC’s shotstopper turned the ball round the post for a corner.

Günter and Matthias Ginter were in agreement that Freiburg needed to “recover well” after their intense match in the Europa League. Thankfully, there are more options in the squad again after various injury lay-offs. “More and more players are coming back,” Günter also noted, while he himself is now ready for 90 minutes again after a long period out. “That’s important for us,” he continued. “The lads who are coming off the bench are doing really well.” An example of this from the game against West Ham is Michael Gregoritsch, who came on in the 70th minute, had his first chance in the 73rd, and scored the winning goal in the 81st minute. He went straight in to help his teammates without needing any time to settle into the game.

FCSG currently occupy fifth place in the Swiss Super League. If they maintain that position, they will qualify for the league’s Championship Group, in which the top six teams compete for the league title and European qualification. Chima Okoroji, who played twice for SC Freiburg, will be reunited with the club after his move from SV Sandhausen to the Green-Whites in the summer transfer window.

Freiburg certainly made the better start to the game. They played an active role in proceedings with Christian Günter bombing down the left wing with real motivation, putting pressure on the Londoners. The ball was moving nicely, and SCF were dictating the game. Christian Streich was applauding his team as they won challenges and won back possession. SC were looking good: “The team played a calm and clear game, with most of our attacks resulting in a shot,” commented Christian Streich. “We passed the ball around nicely, which mean it didn’t turn into a wild game, but it was rather much more controlled.” SCF were just lacking clear-cut chances against the Irons’ solid back four. Maximilian Eggestein had a go from long range in the 19th minute, but his shot went both high and wide. 

Matthias Ginter coped well against Bayern after returning from an Achilles tendon injury and is ready for Thursday’s clash: “I didn’t have any problems and I’m looking forward to the game. West Ham are a top team offensively and have very good individual players.”

After forcing Manuel Neuer into a brilliant save, Roland Sallai got his own rebound and attempted a bicycle kick, with the ball crashing off the crossbar. After bouncing around amongst the Freiburg attackers, the ball fell to Günter, who was in the perfect spot at the edge of the box to power home a left-footed volley into the back of the net – a deserved opener for the hosts. Four minutes later, the captain nearly managed to add a second as he looked to put the ball past Neuer from a tight angle. This time, the ‘keeper was able to get the better of Günter. Up until this point, SC had done well to keep the record champions from creating any chances on goal.

The defeat at Augsburg last weekend has quickly been put in the past. “We’ve done barely any video analysis. We just couldn’t keep up in the second half. I believe, though, that tomorrow can be a very different story to Augsburg, especially seeing as we have two days longer to prepare.”

The coaching staff decided to make three changes to the team that started the 3-2 (aet) victory on Thursday night and reshuffled things at the back once again. Christian Günter, Vincenzo Grifo and Michael Gregoritsch came in for Jordy Makengo, Kiliann Sildillia and Roland Sallai, and as he did in the closing phases of the Lens game, veteran Nicolas Höfler began the game at the centre of the back three. 

That is a plan that the SC players are familiar with by now. There were enough weeks with two games in both this season and last. “That’s our job. We have to be fit on Sunday and show what we showed against Lens,” said Roland Sallai, who netted twice against the French side. He will be particularly referring to the second half and extra-time period, when a determined SC came back from 2-0 down to win and secure a spot in the Round of 16 of the Europa League.