It happened in added time of regular time: SC Freiburg converted a hand penalty to win at Bayern Munich. And is thus sensationally in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup.
It was Lucas Höler who scored Freiburg’s winning goal in the 93rd minute for a 2-1 (1-1) away win at Bayern. And made the huge sensation perfect after a real defensive battle during the previous 90 minutes. Bayern out of the competition in the quarterfinals, outsiders SC Freiburg in the semifinals! Dayot Upamecano had put Bayern ahead with a header (19′), Nicolas Höfler equalized with a powerful long-range shot (29′).
“We defended passionately and in the end we had the necessary bit of luck with the penalty,” said SC coach Christian Streich after the game. Thomas Tuchel stated matter-of-factly: “We received two long-range shots and they were decisive. It’s tough. The last pass just didn’t work for us.” Thomas Müller, who stood in front of the ARD microphone visibly unnerved, was shocked: “We had Freiburg under control, we tightened them up. But they defended very well in the last third and we lacked the last centimeter of accuracy.”
Cancelo is allowed to go directly
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel had only made one change in the starting eleven compared to the recent 4-2 win against Borussia Dortmund: Portuguese Joao Cancelo started for Alphonso Davies. Sadio Mané and Serge Gnabry pulled long faces – they had to sit on the bench again.
At opponents Freiburg, unlike in the two previous DFB Cup rounds, regular goalkeeper Mark Flekken and not U21 national keeper Noah Atubolu was in goal. New in the team compared to the 1-1 draw against Hertha BSC was offensive player Michael Gregoritsch, who was recently suspended due to a yellow card.
“Close Kimmich” – Freiburg’s simple tactic
That Gregoritsch and his two offensive colleagues Höler and Vincenzo Grifo also had one of the central tactical tasks that SC coach Christian Streich had given his boys: to close Joshua Kimmich. FC Bayern’s secret game designer should have as little possession of the ball as possible – so from Freiburg’s point of view, skilful moving and blocking of the rooms in the headquarters was the order of the day.
And the guests from Breisgau did really well. Without Kimmich’s ideas, the Bayern game was largely paralyzed and stuttered. Evidence: It was not until the 12th minute that the Bundesliga champions made the first attempt to approach the goal – Leroy Sané had shot from a distance, but missed the goal with his low shot.
Upamecano with a header – 1:0, Höfler answers
But of course: Bayern have several options when it comes to the offensive. If it doesn’t work from the running game, you still have the standards. And that soon led to the 1-0: Kimmich’s corner kick found Upamecano’s head in the 19th minute, who had beaten Maxi Eggestein with a lot of physique in a dogfight. The Frenchman headed in to make it 1-0.
In such games, it often happens that the Munich side take advantage of the opponent’s temporary depression and strike again. Not this time – Freiburg kept their heads up. And answered. Gregoritsch initially failed with a header that was not hit accurately enough (27′), but two minutes later Yann Sommer’s box rang. Höfler had accepted a ball that Kingsley Coman had saved too short and threw it into the right corner from 18 meters to make it 1-1 – Sommer had no chance.
Ginter saves just before the line
The feared one-sided game had now turned into a real cup fight. Which Bayern primarily intended to win via their left side. Attack attempts were repeatedly launched via the extremely agile duo Cancelo/Sané, which the cleverly staggered Freiburg defense defended properly. The fans didn’t see another chance to score until added time in the first half, when Freiburg keeper Mark Flekken was already beaten after a shot by Thomas Müller. Defense colleague Matthias Ginter was quick-witted and hit the ball out of the danger zone before the line.
Draw at the break, changed picture after the change of sides: FC Bayern now increased the pace and pressure – Freiburg had no choice but to drop further. In addition, the Breisgauer gradually got problems with the strength – the countless inflow of the rooms had cost Körner. The Bavarians pressed the opponent deep in their half – as in handball, the Freiburg penalty area was now increasingly being played around.
Bayern get stuck and end up out
However, all of this happened without creating any real chances to score. Bayern got stuck – even after the elite substitutes Mané, Gnabry and Jamal Musiala were allowed onto the field during the game. On the contrary: after Höfler’s shot in injury time, Musiala undermined the game-winning handball in his own penalty area.
And because Freiburg converted the hand penalty in the last second, Bayern were out. And coach Tuchel has to deal with his real first low blow with his new club.
Reunion in the Bundesliga
In the Bundesliga, both teams have an interesting task ahead of them: They’re about to play each other again. This time in Fribourg. On Saturday from 3.30 p.m.