SC Freiburg wins at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

SC Freiburg got off to a perfect start to the season in the Bundesliga. Coach Christian Streich’s team won the Baden duel at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 2-1 (2-0) on Saturday and put the first damper on their rivals. In front of 25,890 spectators, Attila Szalai scored an own goal in the 39th minute and Roland Sallai (45+3) for Freiburg, who last lost in Sinsheim in 2018. Ozan Kabak (50th) only managed to connect the hosts, who had to do without new signing Wout Weghorst for a short time. The striker was out due to a hamstring problem and watched the fast-paced game from the stands.

Hoffenheim coach Pellegrino Matarazzo sharply criticized his team after the false start. “We want to win games. In order to do that, you need a different defensive performance, a different compactness, a different toxicity against the ball. Our defense wasn’t worthy of the Bundesliga,” said Matarazzo after the game. He was particularly annoyed by the fact that his team actually possessed these virtues. “If we couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t get upset either. But we have already shown that we can do it. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case today, so I can’t accept it,” said Matarazzo, adding: “The defeat was completely unnecessary. Our defensive behavior was just not good.”

The strong TSG goalkeeper Oliver Baumann assessed the performance of his front men in a similar way. “I’m very disappointed because we conceded goals that were too easy. You have to control that better. You need better staggering,” the 33-year-old complained, noting: “We were too open and could have conceded three, four or five goals.”

No undeserved leadership

From the start, both teams delivered an open exchange of blows. The hosts were celebrating after just five minutes, but Andrej Kramaric’s goal was disallowed because the Croatian was ruled offside. On the other side, TSG goalkeeper Oliver Baumann had to show his skills twice within 60 seconds. First he defused a shot from Michael Gregoritsch, then a header from the Freiburg striker.

After the stormy initial phase, it became a little quieter in front of both goals. The game now played mainly between the penalty areas, but without getting boring. Hoffenheim was always trying, but could not crack the compact defensive of the Europa League participants. The guests held back bravely and did not take the lead undeservedly, even if luck was on their side. A cross from Christian Günter deflected Szalai into his own goal after John Anthony Brooks had previously deflected the ball.

The SC was now on the trigger. Baumann deflected a shot from Lukas Kübler with his foot to the crossbar, shortly afterwards Gregoritsch just missed the target with a header. Sallai, who scored from close range, did better. Hoffenheim unsuccessfully complained about a foul in a previous duel between the goal scorer and Pavel Kaderabek.

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Shortly after the restart, Kabak came into focus twice. The TSG defender first saved Gregoritsch’s shot on the line and thus saved his team from an early knockout, then he hit the other side with a low shot into the corner to connect. Hoffenheim now pushed for the 2: 2, but also offered the Breisgauers more space, which the guests used for a number of dangerous advances. The best chance was missed by Vincenzo Grifo (60th), who hit the post.

In the final phase, TSG threw everything forward again, but they couldn’t equalize. On the contrary, Freiburg could have increased, but Baumann deflected a shot by substitute Noah Weißhaupt with a reflex in added time to the post.