Freiburg (dpa/lsw) – Christian Streich is upset. Because SC Freiburg has to play the start of the important weeks until Christmas without U21 national player Merlin Röhl. The in-form 21-year-old suffered a deep wound in the Achilles tendon area in the duel with Poland and will “in all probability” be out of the Bundesliga home game against SV Darmstadt 98. Roland Sallai could be available again for at least a short stint on Saturday (3:30 p.m./Sky) after tearing a muscle fiber in his thigh.
The personnel situation remains tense – at an inopportune time. The sports club has duels “that are very important” until the turn of the year, said the coach. Despite eighth place and 14 points after eleven games, his outlook is rather downward. “You want to increase the distance so that you can move in calmer waters,” said Streich. As in the successful previous season, Freiburg have so far only lost against the top teams that are ahead of SC in the table. On the other hand, they always scored points against teams that were behind Freiburg.
In Streich’s opinion, the upcoming league games against Darmstadt, Mainz, Wolfsburg, Cologne and Heidenheim until the end of the year are all the more important. “But there is no guarantee that you will win against teams that are behind you,” he said.
In addition to Röhl, top performers such as captain Christian Günter and Maximilian Philipp are also still out. “It is important that the players who are healthy bring their performance to the pitch,” emphasized Streich. “We talk about that, including internally with the team, and not about the injured.”
However, the national players who have just returned in particular would have a lot of minutes in their legs. “We now have to regulate it from game to game, juggle it and find the balance in the lineups,” said Streich. There would also be some attractive games on the program before the short Christmas break. This also includes the Europa League games at home against Olympiakos Piraeus and away at West Ham United in London. Overwintering on the European stage is already assured.
Against Darmstadt, it was initially important “that we don’t invite the opponent to score easy goals like we did against Gladbach,” explained Streich, referring to the duel with Borussia, in which the SC was temporarily behind 3-1. “The basis is defense and stability,” said Streich. “It would simply be important to take the lead again.”
The sports club managed to do that against Mönchengladbach, but then the team gave up the lead. Managing the lead until the final whistle would brighten Streich’s mood and ensure self-confidence in Breisgau before the weeks of truth.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:231123-99-52142/3
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