BUNDESLIGA PLAYER RATINGS | SC Freiburg 1-1 Borussia Dortmund – A frustrating afternoon for Dortmund as they fail to beat Freiburg | OneFootball

Following their midweek action in the Champions League and Europa League, Borussia Dortmund were looking to bounce back against SC Freiburg.

Dortmund were very much in control in the first half, with the hosts struggling to challenge Gregor Kobel in the BVB net. The first big chance fell to Carney Chukwuemeka, whose shot, after a weaving run, hit the wrong side of the post. Then the breakthrough came when a Yan Couto free-kick was played into Ramy Bensebaini, who was able to bundle the ball home to give Niko Kovac’s side a 1-0 lead. 

The momentum of the game drastically changed in the second half when an underhit Kobel pass resulted in Jobe Bellingham bringing down Philipp Treu and being sent off. With Dortmund down to 10 men, Freiburg were now in control. Yuito Suzuki forced a save from Kobel, who diverted his effort to the crossbar. 

In the 75th minute, the Breisgau would take the lead when Lucas Höler’s scissor kick from a Christian Günter cross to equalise. Igor Matanovic had thought he had scored the winner, but his effort would be ruled out for an offside. 

Despite chasing the game and needing the win, especially considering the results for teams around them this weekend, Dortmund decided to kill the game off. 

BVB could have moved into second if they won this game, but they still find themselves in third, level on points with RB Leipzig. Then, if Bayern Munich beats Mainz later, then die Schwarzgelben will find themselves 11 points behind, basically meaning any sort of hope of a title is over, and it isn’t even 2026 yet. 

SC Freiburg:

Noah Atubolu (5), Lukas Kubler (6), Matthias Ginter (6), Anthony Jung (5), Christian Günter (6), Maximilian Eggestein (6), Patrick Osterhage (6), Yutio Suzuki (7), Johan Manzambi (6), Philipp Treu (6), Lucas Höler (6)

Others: Vincenzo Grifo (7), Igor Matanovic (5)

Borussia Dortmund:

Gregor Kobel (3), Yan Couto (6), Ramy Bensebaini (5), Emre Can (5), Nico Schlotterbeck (5), Julian Ryerson (5), Felix Nmecha (5), Jobe Bellingham (4), Carney Chukwuemeka (5), Sehrou Guirassy (5), Fabio Silva (5)

Others: Pascal Groß (5), Daniel Svensson (5), Maximilian Beier (5), Karim Adeyemi (-), Niklas Süle (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Yuito Suzuki (7)

The 24-year-old was central in helping to bring Freiburg back into the game. Via FotMob, Suzuki created the joint most chances in the game (three), whilst also registering four passes into the final third, along with his stinging shot that required a big save from Kobel. 

Suzuki had a slow start to life in the Black Forest, but he is seemingly beginning to find his feet at Europa Park and becoming a crucial player as the season goes on. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan