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Bundesliga, 23. January 2021

Narrow defeat in Freiburg

VfB made a losing start to the second half of the season on Saturday, slipping to a 2-1 defeat at SC Freiburg.

Personnel

VfB head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo made four changes to the team that started the away game at Arminia Bielefeld. Borna Sosa and Philipp Förster were unavailable due to muscular issues, while Sasa Kalajdzic and Mateo Klimowicz had to settle for a place on the bench. Silas Wamangituka, Nicolas Gonzalez, Gonzalo Castro and Daniel Didavi all came into the side.

Highlights
7th minute Wamangituka dribbles into the Freiburg penalty area before setting up Didavi, whose shot is saved by Florian Müller. However, the Freiburg goalkeeper fails to hold onto the ball, allowing Wamangituka to open the scoring from the rebound.
14th minute Ermedin Demirovic’s close-range effort takes a deflection off Marc Oliver Kempf’s back, leaving Gregor Kobel with no chance in the VfB goal – 1-1.
38th minute Demirovic’s back-heel releases South Korean midfielder Woo-Yeong Jeong, who puts Freiburg 2-1 in front from close range.
45th minute Gonzalez’s penalty is saved by Müller in the closing stages of a pulsating, end-to-end first half.
86th minute Erik Thommy fires against the post from a left-central position.
90th minute Gonzalez hits the outside of the right-hand post following a solo run.

Pellegrino Matarazzo:

We were totally dominant in the second half. When you consider we had 27 attempts to their nine, a missed penalty and two shots against the post, we definitely could have got a point.

Summary

VfB will be disappointed not to have taken something from Saturday’s breathless encounter in Breisgau. They made a bright start but were unable to hold onto their lead for long, and soon fell behind. The Cannstatt lads’ best opportunity to restore parity came from the penalty spot shortly before half-time, but Gonzalez’s effort was saved. VfB dominated proceedings after the break against a defensive-minded, counter-attacking Freiburg side but failed to make the most of their goalscoring opportunities.