Freiburg made Bundesliga history by putting hapless hosts Borussia Monchengladbach to the sword in the first half, leading 6-0 at halftime on Sunday.
About the team
Only one unbeaten team remains in the Bundesliga, joining Liverpool, AC Milan, and Napoli as the only clubs in Europe’s major leagues yet to lose a match. That team isn’t Bayern Munich, and it’s certainly not Borussia Dortmund. Freiburg is the name of the city.
The Black Forest club has a long and illustrious history, although they are not one of German football’s heavyweights. Nonetheless, they exist. In third place at the table. If they beat Bayern Munich on Saturday, they will draw level with the leaders in points. These are exciting times.
The fact that Freiburg has finally moved into a new stadium, in which they won their first match against Greuther Furth last time out, further adds to the enthusiasm. This is a new beginning, a time when anything appears to be possible.
In the First Half
High-flying Freiburg humiliated struggling Gladbach, becoming the first team in the German top flight to score five goals away from home in the first 25 minutes of a game. Freiburg had lost their last two games, but they were ahead 2-0 after only five minutes thanks to goals from Maximilian Eggestein and Kevin Schade.
Before Nico Schlotterbeck put Freiburg up 6-0 at halftime, Philipp Lienhart, Nicolas Hofler, and Lucas Holer got in on the act. In the first half of a nightmare for the Foals, Stefan Lainer and Alassane Plea were substituted, with boss Adi Hutter’s job hanging by a thread.
Gladbach had previously been the only team to score five goals in the first 25 minutes of a match, which occurred in October 1984 at home against Braunschweig.
In the End
The game became one for the record books at halftime, with the scoreboard reading 0-6. It was only the second occasion in Bundesliga history that an away team led by six goals at the break. Furthermore, this set a new record for the Breisgau side, with a 0-6 win margin being the largest margin of victory Freiburg has ever had in the Bundesliga.
As the game drew closer to the final whistle, the second half became nothing more than a formality after the visitors’ riveting and overwhelming performance. Both teams made half-hearted attempts to score on their opponents’ goals. After the break, Höler had the greatest chance. His wonderfully hit volley would’ve been a shoo-in for the goal of the month if the ball hadn’t dipped just too much to the wrong side of the crossbar.
It was a fantastic night for Streich’s team, who took all three points and retained the fourth position for another week, while Gladbach was relegated to a disappointing 13th place by their standards.
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