Union stun Freiburg to reach 30 points | OneFootball

While Freiburg push for a return to Europe, Union Berlin’s recent surge eased their relegation scare. Both coaches only made one change from their respective matchday 26 lineups. After they scored as substitutes before the international break, Michael Gregoritsch and Benedict Hollerbach returned to their respective XIs.

However, the visitors were forced to an early change. Wooyeong Jeong, who scored Union’s winner in Frankfurt, was off injured at his old stomping ground inside the first ten minutes. Tim Skarke came in his place in search of his first goal for the club.

The 28-year-old was involved in the game’s first real chance when Andrej Ilic tested Noah Atubolu. Freiburg’s young goalkeeper went 610 minutes without conceding a goal before their 2-2 draw in Mainz.

In a special match for him, Vincenzo Grifo had the hosts’ first telling chance with a customary free-kick. The Italian became the fifth Freiburg player to reach 300 competitive appearances for the club. Soon after, he was involved in the first goal of the match.

His low cross was met by Lucas Höler in the box as Freiburg took the lead in the half-hour mark. A minute later, Union equalized through a blasting effort by Rani Khedira. Freiburg failed to properly clear Christopher Trimmel’s inviting cross, and the 31-year-old midfielder needed no second invitation.

It was the first goal conceded by Atubolu in the Europa-Park Stadion since a 2-1 defeat to Bayern in January. Soon after, he had to make saves from Hollerbach and Skarke before a collision with teammate Philipp Lienhart required treatment from the medical team in injury-time.

Since only Bayern (11) won more home games than Freiburg (8), it was a very promising half from Union’s perspective. The Irons are set to extend their good run in this fixture, with only two defeats to Freiburg from their previous 11 encounters.

And, they were in dreamland when Ilić headed home Skarke’s delivery five minutes after the break. Freiburg’s misery was compounded when Atubolu forced to be substituted before the hour mark due to the earlier shoulder injury.

Eren Dinkçi, who was introduced alongside shot-stopper Florian Müller, had an instant impact as the hosts dominated play after going behind for the first time in the game. They came from behind twice against Mainz to clinch a point, but Union’s in-form defense was up for the challenge.

There was a lot of physical battle in the final stage of the game as Sören Storks brandished six yellow cards after the 75th minute. The stop-and-go nature of the game helped Union Berlin as they saw out a massive win in their battle to avoid relegation. Despite spending the entire time in Union's half, Freiburg only had one shot on target after the break.

Union recorded back-to-back away wins against Europe-bound teams, sandwiched by a solid point against Bayern. After a slow start to his reign, Steffen Baumgart now manages to hit a landmark 30 points. Meanwhile, Freiburg missed a chance to climb up to fifth in the standings.