Team news: There was one change for the game against SC Freiburg compared to the eleven that started in Mainz. Maximilian Philipp made his first start for the Green-Whites and replaced the injured Niclas Füllkrug. Amos Pieper was back in the squad on the bench after his ankle injury. Apart from that, Ole Werner named the same squad as the last game against Mainz.
Starting XI: Pavlenka – Jung, Stark, Stage, Weiser, Ducksch, Bittencourt, Veljkovic, Philipp, Friedl, Groß.
The bench: Zetterer – Pieper, Schmid, Dinkci, Schmidt, Buchanan, Gruev, Mbom, Chiarodia.
Quality lacking in the first half
Highlights from the first half:
3rd minute: Leo Bittencourt finds Weiser, who plays the ball back to Maximilian Philipp. He shoots first time, but can’t make it past the visitors’ defence, who block the shot.
6th minute: Now Freiburg are getting into the game and moving forward. Jens Stage closes down in time, however, and blocks the ball from being crossed into the box.
8th minute: Now it’s time to be alert at the back. The visitors have a good chance from a free-kick just outside the penalty area, but Grifo can only hit the wall.
14th minute: The game is getting more feisty and referee Florian Badstübner gives his next yellow card, but the two sides have not been able to create any real danger in their opponent’s penalty area.
18th minute: SVW are on the attack as Groß drives forward a few yards in midfield, moves past his opponents and plays the ball out wide to Maximilian Philipp, who was unfortunately just offside.
25th minute: Free-kick to Freiburg: Vincenzo Grifo takes a shot at Pavlenka, who parries the ball forward towards Roland Sallai. He is about to shoot before Niklas Stark is able close him down.
30th minute: The visitors have been growing more dangerous in the last few minutes and are now pushing to get in front of the Werder goal. So far, however, SVW are defending well.
45th minute: A ball slips through to Marvin Ducksch, who boldly takes a shot from 30 yards out, with the ball just going past the right post.
Freiburg strike twice to snatch victory from Werder
Highlights from the second half:
46th minuet: Goal for Werder! What a move! A long ball lands at Leo Bittencourt’s feet and he runs towards the opposition penalty area. Nicolas Höfler presses Werder’s number 10, but Leo shows his good vision and makes a perfect square pass to Philipp, who only has to slide the ball into an empty net! 1-0 to Werder.
51st minute: A through ball comes to Lucas Höler, who crosses the ball into the middle. Pavlas saves with his fingertips, but can’t quite hold onto the ball. After a scramble in the box, he finally manages to claim it.
57th minute: A long ball falls to Christian Günter in a dangerous area. He tries to run towards the Werder goal, but is pushed out wide by Anthony Jung, and his cross isn’t successful.
61st minute: Mitchell Weiser plays a cross into the centre, and Maximilian Philipp has a shot with a scissor-kick, but the ball is just deflected over the crossbar by Mark Flekken.
66th minute: Goal for Freiburg: Roland Sallai scores for SCF to make it 1-1. Flekken plays a long ball to Höler, who heads the ball on to Sallai. He finds himself with a lot of space and slots the ball into the net.
69th minute: Ducksch plays a great free-kick into the centre, where Flekken fumbles the ball. Another cross finds Weiser, who tries an overhead kick and hits the ball over the crossbar.
71st minute: Goal for Freiburg: Lucas Höler scores for SCF to make it 2-1. Roland Sallai hits the ball at speed into the box, where Höler leaps and flicks the ball into the bottom-right corner.
85th minute: Dinkci has a chance having just been substituted on as he finds himself with space on the right and drives forward a few yards before he takes a shot. The ball goes over the bar, however.
90th minute: A long ball is played forward and suddenly Ritsu Doan is dribbling alone towards the Werder penalty area. Fortunately, the Freiburg player doesn’t see his teammate in the middle and has a go himself. Jiri Pavlenka has no trouble and safely gathers the ball.
90th+3 minute: Romano Schmid has a shot again from about 20 yards out, but it is too central and Mark Flekken can easily catch.
90th+7 minute: Full time.
Summary: After a quiet first half, the scoring took place in the second half. Werder took the lead shortly after the restart and remained dangerous. Freiburg did not give in, however, and really turned up the heat after the Green-Whites scored. Within five minutes, SCF turned the game around and defended the result until the end. Werder came away without any points, although they felt that they deserved at least one from the game.
Quality lacking in the first half
Highlights from the first half:
3rd minute: Leo Bittencourt finds Weiser, who plays the ball back to Maximilian Philipp. He shoots first time, but can’t make it past the visitors’ defence, who block the shot.
6th minute: Now Freiburg are getting into the game and moving forward. Jens Stage closes down in time, however, and blocks the ball from being crossed into the box.
8th minute: Now it’s time to be alert at the back. The visitors have a good chance from a free-kick just outside the penalty area, but Grifo can only hit the wall.
14th minute: The game is getting more feisty and referee Florian Badstübner gives his next yellow card, but the two sides have not been able to create any real danger in their opponent’s penalty area.
18th minute: SVW are on the attack as Groß drives forward a few yards in midfield, moves past his opponents and plays the ball out wide to Maximilian Philipp, who was unfortunately just offside.
25th minute: Free-kick to Freiburg: Vincenzo Grifo takes a shot at Pavlenka, who parries the ball forward towards Roland Sallai. He is about to shoot before Niklas Stark is able close him down.
30th minute: The visitors have been growing more dangerous in the last few minutes and are now pushing to get in front of the Werder goal. So far, however, SVW are defending well.
45th minute: A ball slips through to Marvin Ducksch, who boldly takes a shot from 30 yards out, with the ball just going past the right post.