Freiburg hit five against Gladbach to continue perfect Bundesliga start | OneFootball

Freiburg were firmly in control at the break against Borussia Mönchengladbach after first-half goals from Yannik Engelhardt and Igor Matanovic.

Matanovic caused Gladbach problems almost immediately, dispossessing Ko Itakura, before having an opportunity to release Yuito Suzuki inside the opening minutes, only to struggle to get the ball out of his feet.

The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 23rd minute, when Derry Scherhant's corner found Engelhardt, whose looping header caught Moritz Nicolas in no man's land and dropped into the net.

Six minutes later, Freiburg doubled their advantage, with Matthias Ginter firing a sharp pass towards Matanovic on the edge of the penalty area and, with plenty of pace already on the ball, the striker simply guided it beyond Nicolas and in off the post.

At that point, Gladbach were in danger of being overwhelmed as Freiburg threatened to turn an already commanding first half into a rout.

Freiburg remained firmly in control after the restart, with Gladbach’s hopes of finding a route back into the contest dealt another blow when Tim Kleindienst was shown a second yellow card following a coming together with Philipp Lienhart.

The visitors had already looked toothless going forward, and being reduced to ten men only made their task increasingly difficult as Freiburg continued to dictate proceedings.

And the hosts eventually made their numerical advantage count in the 76th minute. Matanovic rose to head home from close range, completing his brace and taking his tally to three Bundesliga goals for the season.

Just three minutes later, Freiburg had a fourth.

Ginter once again drilled a pass towards the edge of the penalty area, where Engelhardt took a touch before unleashing an excellent left-footed strike beyond Moritz Nicolas for his second of the afternoon.

And Freiburg were not finished there, adding a fifth late on. Jordy Makengo sent the ball across the penalty area and, following a scramble in the middle, Maximilian Eggestein was on hand to prod home and complete the rout.

It capped another hugely impressive display from Julian Schuster’s side, who have now won each of their opening three Bundesliga matches while conceding just once.

With Augsburg dropping points against Bayer Leverkusen elsewhere and Freiburg’s second-half goal rush, Die Breisgauer climbed to the top of the Bundesliga to cap a remarkable start to the campaign.

For Gladbach, meanwhile, a woeful start to the season continues.

Eugen Polanski’s side remain without a point after three matches, with a miserable afternoon in Freiburg compounded by Kleindienst’s dismissal and five goals conceded.