Bremen (dpa) – The double anniversary of SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga allowed coach Christian Streich to look briefly into the past. “That means we’ve been playing in the Bundesliga for a number of years. It certainly wasn’t foreseeable 25 years ago,” said the long-term coach on Sunday after the 2-1 win at Werder Bremen. “That’s nice, but it’s just a statistic.”
For the present, the 250th victory in their Bundesliga history thanks to goals number 1000 and 1001 by Roland Sallai (67th) and Lukas Höler (71st) means that Freiburg are still in the middle of the fight for a Champions League spot are. Only one point separates the fifth in the table from a place that entitles them to participate in the premier class.
After three games without a win, the Breisgauers scored their first “Big Points” in Bremen in the first of three “Big Points games”, as national player Matthias Ginter put it. The next points should follow against Schalke 04 and 1. FC Köln. “There is rarely a game with a two-goal difference in the game Bundesliga“said the defender. “It’s a slog in the league. It’s about everything down below and for us it’s about the international places. That’s why every point and every win is important.”
In view of the course of the game in front of 41,500 spectators in the sold-out Weser Stadium, the Freiburgers were more relieved than happy about the victory. “We were the luckier ones. Of course, the game can also end in a draw,” admitted Streich. Nevertheless, he also paid tribute to his team. “To turn a 0-1 deficit in Bremen in the current phase in the 40th competitive game, I have to say: Chapeau, boys.”
Bremen showed a good performance, but once again didn’t reward themselves for it. In any case, it was not due to the absence of their top scorer and national player Niclas Füllkrug that Werder remained without a win in the sixth game in a row and for the ninth time at home without a point. Full pitcher substitute Maximilian Philipp did a good job on his debut for Bremen. “That was a good performance,” said his coach Ole Werner in his usual sober manner.
The 29-year-old, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg, took the lead seconds after the break with his first Bundesliga goal for the Hanseatic League. After an hour he missed his second goal with a worth seeing overhead kick, which Freiburg goalkeeper Mark Flekken parried strongly.
Since his first goal didn’t bring any points, Philipp was visibly disappointed. “It’s extremely bitter. I think we were the better team,” he said. “I think we deserved a point.”
This would have done Bremen very well. With 32 points after 28 games, the promoted team cannot yet feel safe. They also have two big points games coming up: next week at bottom Hertha BSC in Berlin, then at second bottom Schalke 04. “My team and I are in the process of putting together a good performance with points again,” said Werner.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:230415-99-327087/7
