Berlin, April 17 (IANS) Freiburg remain in the hunt for a top-four finish after securing a 2-1 comeback victory at Werder Bremen following the curtain closer of the 28th round.
Bremen took the reins from the starting whistle but couldn’t do any damage to Freiburg’s well-positioned defense in the final third. The hosts failed to create clear-cut opportunities for the remainder of the first half, whereas Freiburg came close only once when Vincenzo Grifo unleashed a 30-meter hammer to force Bremen goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka into action in the 26th minute, reports Xinhua.
The Werderaner caught a fairy tale start in the second half as Leonardo Bittencourt shrugged off two defenders before finding unmarked Maximilian Philipp, who finished off the counterattack to break the deadlock.
Unimpressed, Freiburg responded with attacks and got rewarded in the 67th minute when Lucas Holer flicked on a goal kick, allowing Roland Sallai to restore parity and score Freiburg’s 1000th Bundesliga goal.
Freiburg wasn’t done with the scoring and completed its comeback on the road five minutes later as Sallai’s whipped cross into the box found Holer, who headed past Pavlenka to make it 2-1 on the scoreboards.
Bremen pressed for a share of spoils, but Freiburg’s defense stood firm and extended Werder’s winless run to six games.
“In the end, we were the lucky ones today. Of course, it can end in a draw or Bremen can make it double its advantage, but to win here after being one goal down, kudos. Not everyone can do that,” said Freiburg head coach Christian Streich.
“I am disappointed because overall we played well against a top team. The accuracy in the final third was missing, especially in the first half. It is very annoying that we lost the game in two actions,” said Werder Bremen head coach Ole Werner.
Elsewhere, Union Berlin’s top three finish is in danger as the Eisernen were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation-threatened Bochum, while Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen played out a goalless stalemate.
–IANS
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