Freiburg (dpa / lsw) – After the short anger about national soccer player Joshua Kimmich had smoked, the professionals at SC Freiburg enjoyed the Easter peace. Coach Christian Streich gave them two days off after the 0-1 (0-0) defeat against Bayern Munich and before the final weeks of the season. The motto was to regenerate for the final sprint. Freiburg, who have slipped to fifth place in the table, are still fighting for their first place in the Champions League and the final of the DFB Cup from the upcoming league game at Werder Bremen on Sunday.
On Saturday, the administrators of the sports club’s Twitter channel could not resist a small dig at Kimmich. “Really good actions there even after the end of the game,” read a posted post shortly after the final whistle. Munich midfielder Kimmich clenched his fists during his emotional celebration and made his way to the Freiburg appendix. An expression of his relief after Bayern had retaliated for the cup four days earlier.
The Freiburg reacted angrily to the scene. “He should be happy about the three points and not provoke the opposing fans,” said Nicolas Höfler. SC’s midfield motor was able to overlook this a few moments later, after all, Freiburg are in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup. At the beginning of May there will be a repeat of last year’s final against RB Leipzig. Kimmich and his Bayern are no longer there.
That’s why pride prevailed among the people of Baden in the end. “The team believed in it until the last minute and we were mentally and physically strong. The players deserve praise,” said trainer Streich, for whom it was important that his protégés take a deep breath before the groundbreaking weeks.
Of course, he and his players would have liked to win their second meeting with the record champions in a short space of time. “But we won in Munich and lost 1-0 at home – it’s almost impossible to do more,” said Streich. A long-range shot by Bayern professional Matthijs de Ligt (51st minute) decided the game.
“It hurts now,” said the recovered SC defender Philipp Lienhart. “We wanted to score points, but unfortunately that didn’t work out. It’s annoying and bitter. But I think the performance was good and we don’t have to be ashamed of how we played.”
Streich knows that “a completely different game awaits us in Bremen, but it won’t be any less emotional there”. He is still annoyed that his team lost a lead in the league games in Mainz (1-1) and against Hertha BSC (1-1). “Once that would have been fine,” said the 57-year-old, also with a view to the exciting fight for European places. “We want to make up for that and win with a very good performance in Bremen.” Despite the defeat against Bayern, Freiburg are still in the running.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:230408-99-253023/4
