Freiburg seal early Europa League knockout berth | OneFootball

It was a physical battle from the get-go with the referee waving away calls for penalty-kicks when Freiburg’s center-back duo Philipp Lienhart and Matthias Ginter went down in Salzburg’s box in two incidents inside the first ten minutes. Yuito Suzuki attempted the first shot for the hosts from the edge of the box in the 18th minute.

Ten minutes later, the in-form Swiss international Johan Manzambi tried his luck from a similar position, but his shot also went above the crossbar. Freiburg continued to knock as fellow central midfielder Maximilian Eggestein nearly found the net with a header from Vincenzo Grifo’s corner-kick at the half-hour mark.

A few minutes later, the former Werder Bremen player was bleeding when Petar Ratkov’s elbow hit him on the nose. Salzburg’s striker was sent off after Elchin Masiyev changed his initial decision of a yellow card with the help of VAR. However, the visitors should’ve gone into the break with a lead when Edmund Baidoo did everything right bar putting the ball in the net.

VAR also took center stage early in the second-half. The Azerbaijan referee eventually decided Joane Gadou’s challenge on Manzambi wasn’t enough for a penalty-kick. However, Freiburg took the lead from the resulting corner-kick. Jan-Niklas Beste’s weak shot went all the way to the net after deflections from Soumaila Diabate and Lienhart, who was a doubt for the game because of his injury in the defeat to Heidenheim.

With their superior man advantage, Julian Schuster’s side managed to create more havoc from set-piece. Ginter was the next to come close for scoring when his deflected header narrowly missed the target. Manzambi, who scored in three successive Bundesliga games, was thwarted by Alexander Schlager from sealing the three points for the hosts. The Austrian also denied Christian Günter in injury-time, but the scrappy goal was enough for Freiburg to secure big win.

Freiburg will end their league phase campaign of the Europa League with a home game against Maccabi Tel Aviv and a trip to Nice. At the very least, they are confirmed to finish at the 24th place, which will be enough for a playoff spot. They will automatically enter the Round of 16 with a top eight finish.