Freiburg stops winless streak
Bochum slips after coup against FC Bayern
March 10, 2024, 5:36 p.m
After the surprise win against FC Bayern Munich, VfL Bochum climbed to 11th place in the Bundesliga. But after that it goes downhill: three bankruptcies in a row lead straight back into the basement.
SC Freiburg has ended its winless streak in the Bundesliga and got another ego boost four days before a historic chance in the Europa League. Coach Christian Streich’s team won 2-1 (1-0) at VfL Bochum. For Freiburg it was the first triple point win in the league after six games without a win.
Maximilian Eggestein (36th minute) and Michael Gregoritsch (53rd) scored the goals for SC and ensured Bochum’s third defeat in a row since the 3-2 coup over FC Bayern Munich, which ultimately saw its coach Thomas Tuchel sacked at the end of the season Job costs. The Revierklub is 15th in the table, but still has a reassuring lead of seven points over the relegation place. Defender Ivan Ordets scored for VfL (62′).
Manageable level
Freiburg is in the middle of the table with 33 points and wants to reach a European quarter-final for the first time in the club’s history on Thursday at West Ham United in London. The Breisgauers won the first leg of the round of 16 against the English first division team 1-0 at home.
“We can’t get involved in an open exchange of blows,” said SC coach Christian Streich before the game on DAZN. And the 25,594 spectators in the Ruhrstadion didn’t get to see one of those at the beginning, nor did Freiburg’s game control.
The game initially remained at a very manageable level. Bad passes and other inaccuracies characterized the event. A long-range shot from Bochum defender Keven Schlotterbeck, which Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu deflected to a corner, was the most dangerous scoring opportunity in the first 35 minutes. At times there was so little going on near the gate that pigeons could look for food there in peace.
Streich seemed correspondingly dissatisfied with his team’s performance. The 58-year-old repeatedly tried to correct Freiburg’s game with loud announcements and gestures. Still, there wasn’t much progress. The guests’ lead practically fell out of nowhere.
Freiburg quickly punished Bochum
Gregoritsch headed a cross from the right to Eggestein and the midfielder scored with Freiburg’s first real chance to take the lead. Shortly afterwards, the SCF was lucky: referee Marco Fritz did not consider an arm use by Matthias Ginter in the penalty area against Bochum striker Moritz Broschinski to be a foul.
The game now became more heated. Fritz and fourth official Sören Storks struggled several times to calm the excited minds on the pitch and in front of the substitutes’ benches. In injury time of the first half, Kevin Stöger missed the equalizer with a poorly placed header from a promising position.
After the break, Freiburg punished this. Ritsu Doan crossed to Gregoritsch and the completely alone center forward scored the second goal for the guests quite easily. However, Bochum did not give up. After a corner, Ordets scored the goal with a remarkable header. Bochum was now pushing for an equalizer. However, the hosts were unable to score the second goal despite a few attempts – even if VfL keeper Manuel Riemann stormed along.