Bundesliga - "Extremely important for me": Gregoritsch makes Freiburg happy
Freiburg's goal scorer Michael Gregoritsch accepted the congratulations of his teammates with a smile. In the 2:0 (0:0) win against 1. FC Köln, the striker once again scored the important 1:0 for his team, and the 29-year-old also set up the 2:0. "Ever since I scored in the Europa League, things have been going so well. It's nice that I've been in the right place a few times now, which is of course extremely important for me," said Gregoritsch on the streaming service DAZN.
Thanks to Gregoritsch, SC head coach Christian Streich's team, who were clearly superior in the end, secured their third win in a row in the Bundesliga in front of 34,700 spectators in the sold-out stadium - and for the third time in a row, Gregoritsch played a decisive role, this time scoring as a substitute in the 72nd minute. Roland Sallai made everything clear (90.+5).
While Freiburg are now unbeaten in four games, Cologne weakened in many phases of a very mediocre match. With just ten goals after 15 matchdays, the FC players have by far the weakest offense in the league. The visitors also lost Jeff Chabot to a yellow card after just over an hour.
"We'll work, we'll keep going - and everything else is nonsense anyway," said Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart somewhat flippantly after the game. "It's not that everything looks dark now, it's that we're not getting good results. In my opinion, the performance today should have been enough to get a point."
The Ultra fans in the Europa Park stadium were also silent for the first twelve minutes in protest against the entry of investors into the German Football League. Shouts and whistles could be heard through Baumgart's fingers right up to the stands. Referee Harm Osmers then interrupted the match for five minutes: As a further sign of protest, a veritable rain of chocolate thalers poured down on the pitch from the SC supporters' block. The gold-colored pieces even had to be collected in buckets by the stewards before play could continue.
Streich had surprisingly benched Gregoritsch, scorer of the winning goals in the recent 1-0 victories in Mainz and Wolfsburg. After the Europa League defeat at West Ham United and ahead of the draw for the intermediate round this Monday, Freiburg dictated proceedings as the game progressed. In addition, the defense around veteran Matthias Ginter and 22-year-old talent Jordy Makengo on the left was largely secure.
The decimation of the opponents due to the red card for Chabot, who straddled Lucas Höler, and the introduction of strikers Gregoritsch and Sallai helped the SC to gain more momentum. Gregoritsch benefited from the fact that the FC defenders had left their keeper Marvin Schwäbe pretty much alone at 1-0.
At the other end, Davie Selke and his attacking colleagues were hardly noticeable in the second half. The current sporting situation in Cologne is difficult, club legend Lukas Podolski had already said earlier on TV channel Sport1: "FC now have two difficult away games, if they lose twice, things will look bleak."
Squad SC Freiburg Bundesliga table Squad 1. FC Köln
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- Steffen Baumgart, the coach of 1. FC Cologne, recognized the importance of improving their offensive game, as they had only managed ten goals in 15 Bundesliga matches.
- Despite the poor performance, Baumgart remained optimistic, stating that the performance in the game against Freiburg should have been enough to secure a point.
- In the match against Freiburg, Germany-born Jeff Chabot received a yellow card for his actions towards Lucas Höler, further weakening Cologne's performance.
- SC Freiburg's head coach, Christian Streich, surprised his team by benching Michael Gregoritsch for the game, but Gregoritsch would later prove his importance when he came on as a substitute.
- Streaming service DAZN reported on Gregoritsch's contributions to Freiburg's victory, with the striker scoring the opening goal and setting up the second.
- The victory in Cologne was Freiburg's third straight win in the Bundesliga, and Gregoritsch had played a decisive role in each of these victories.
- SC Freiburg, currently in the top half of the Bundesliga table, faces a tough challenge next, with a match against 1. FC Union Berlin, while 1. FC Cologne will travel to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europe League.
- Michael Gregoritsch hails from Baden-Württemberg, and he expressed his happiness with his current form, attributing his success to scoring in the Europa League.
- The match against Cologne saw some controversy in the Ultra fans' section of the stadium, with fans protesting against the entry of investors into the German Football League by throwing chocolate coins onto the field.
Source: www.stern.de
