Freiburg cruises past Union Berlin behind Khedira own goal and Suzuki strike, closes in on Bundesliga summit

Freiburg had to wait until the 54th minute for the opening goal, and when it finally came, it arrived in the strangest way: an own goal from Rani Khedira that broke open a match the Europa-Park Stadion had been controlling since kickoff. With the floodgates opened, Yuito Suzuki sealed things at the 66th minute with a right-footed finish off a well-worked counterattack, and the final 2-0 scoreline kept Freiburg in the thick of the title race in the Bundesliga, while 1. FC Union Berlin remains stuck in its rough patch.

The home side's dominance was clear from the start. Igor Matanovic gave an early warning in the 8th minute with a header that the goalkeeper managed to stop, and eight minutes later another header of his clipped the crossbar. Derry Scherhant also had several chances in the first half hour but couldn't find the finish. Union Berlin, for its part, barely showed up offensively: its main chance before the break was a shot from Oliver Burke that flew well over the bar following a cross from Derrick Köhn, right at the start of the second half.

The scoreless deadlock held until just after the hour mark, when a tricky ball deflected into his own net off Khedira to make it 1-0. Just twelve minutes later, Suzuki finished with his right foot from inside the box after an assist from Scherhant on a counterattack, making it 2-0, which would stand as the final score.

A penalty that could have widened the gap

The match had one more twist in the 82nd minute, when András Schäfer fouled Keisuke Goto inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot for Freiburg. However, Vincenzo Grifo, who had just come on as a substitute, missed the chance: his right-footed shot clipped the left post on its way wide. The miss didn't change the outcome, but it could have left an even wider margin on the scoreboard.

What the numbers say

The stats confirm what was visible on the field: a Freiburg side that was clearly superior in nearly every category, with more than double the possession and five times as many shots as its opponent.

The xG generated in the match, our own estimate based on shot location, also backs up that dominance: 2.66 for Freiburg compared to just 0.55 for Union Berlin. The gap between that home xG figure and the two actual goals suggests the home side could have walked away with an even bigger lead, something Grifo's missed penalty only underscores.

Our pre-match projection gave Freiburg a 65% chance of winning, with a 21% chance of a draw and 14% for a visiting win, with expected goals of 2.31 for the home side and 1.03 for the away side. What happened on the field lined up with that forecast: Freiburg played like the favorite it was and ended up scoring two goals, right in line with the projection, though this time Union Berlin didn't even come close to its expected goal tally.

What it means in the standings

With this result, Freiburg climbs to 19 points through 9 matches played and holds onto third place in the Bundesliga, just two points behind the top spot shared by Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund. Union Berlin, meanwhile, remains stuck near the bottom, with 7 points through the same number of matches, a goal difference that is now the second worst in the league, and a 12-point gap to today's opponent. For the Berlin side, the need to start picking up points is becoming more urgent by the week.