St. Pauli visited the Europa-Park Stadion for the third time in their history but the first time ever in the Bundesliga. They had previously faced SC in the stadium’s opening game in 2021, as well as a DFB-Pokal encounter during the 2022/23 season. After winning both of those games, SCF were defeated on this occasion.
The match started with the hosts having the majority of the ball. The promoted side, who had picked up just one point from their first four matches ahead of the game, sat deep and tried to close off any space for SC to attack. Neither goalkeeper had much to do in the early stages. However, Noah Atubolu was left with no chance when St. Pauli threatened SCF’s goal for the first time. Freiburg were unable to clear a long ball into the penalty area, and Elias Saad pounced to give the visitors the lead. The opener came from nowhere, and SC suddenly found themselves falling behind for the third home game in a row.
Just as they had against Stuttgart and Bochum, the hosts reacted well to conceding. Vincenzo Grifo’s free kick was kept out by St. Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj (16’). The goal sparked the game into life, and the visitors threatened going forward too. Philipp Treu’s shot was blocked by Philipp Lienhart (21’). Just before that, SCF had twice got the better of the opponents’ defence down the left-hand side, but there were no takers for either cross into the box.
St. Pauli hit the bar and Grifo misses from the spot
SC had their best chance of the game so far in the 28th minute, when a diagonal ball bypassed the midfield, and Christian Günter’s first-time cross into the penalty area found Grifo, whose header went wide. Freiburg were now camped in the St. Pauli half, but the visitors were still able to cause trouble at the other end. In the 35th minute, Eric Smith hammered a free kick off the bar from around 17 yards out.
In the 36th minute, Matthias Ginter went down in the box, and VAR advised referee Timo Gerach to take another look at the incident, after he had initially found nothing wrong with the challenge. He eventually awarded a penalty kick after a quick look at the screen. Grifo stepped up, but his effort was saved by Vasilj. “I didn’t want to take any risks, but that was the wrong decision today,” said Grifo after the game.
Instead, it was the visitors who showed their ruthlessness in front of goal. After it was so nearly 1-1, SCF found themselves 2-0 down at the break, as St. Pauli scored a second goal from their third chance of the match. The Freiburg defence failed to clear, and Oladapo Afolayan’s low shot made it 2-0.
VAR denies SC twice
The second half began in similar fashion to the first. SCF dominated possession, but St. Pauli sat deep and restricted the hosts to very few opportunities. Freiburg found it difficult to break through, but thought they had pulled one back after Lienhart headed home following a free kick in the 63rd minute. VAR stepped in once again however, and the goal was chalked off for offside. Suddenly, it was the away fans who were celebrating.
The events of the first half now appeared to be repeating themselves. Instead of SC clawing back the deficit, the visitors went 3-0 up in the 73rd minute. Saad wasn’t closed down by five defenders and let fly in the penalty area. His shot crept through the fingers of the unlucky Atubolu. In the 85th minute, SCF were denied by VAR once more, which just about summed the game up. Again, it was for offside, this time against the substitute Lucas Höler, who had pulled the ball back for Ritsu Doan to score.
The visitors impressed with their solid defence and ruthlessness in front of goal. Freiburg fought until the end, but, in this particular home game, didn’t have luck on their side. Head coach Julian Schuster said: “St. Pauli defended very deeply, and that was a new challenge for us to contend with. We could have been more patient.”
