Bundesliga Player Ratings | Freiburg 2-1 Schalke 04

Bundesliga Player Ratings | Freiburg 2-1 Schalke 04 Julian Schuster’s Breisgauer have reclaimed top spot in the Bundesliga table after defeating Schalke 04 2-1 in the 2026/27 campaign’s Matchday 5 capper. Draws this weekend from both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich afforded Freiburg the chance to return to the summit. Schuster’s Schwarzwaldverein initially failed to make their early dominance count fully and later had to overcome a Yuito Suzuki sending off in the second half. Keisuke Goto’s 85th-minute winner nevertheless ensured Freiburg joined Bayern and Dortmund in remaining unbeaten through five matchdays while reclaiming the “Spitzenreiter” position. Hosts take charge and don’t relent Both teams threw themselves intensively into the duels in the opening ten minutes. The hosts were nevertheless able to rack up 75 percent possession and punch through several times on the left via Jordy Makengo and Derry Scherhant. The opening goal would come off a dead ball. Nothing came of the corner Scherhant earned in the ninth minute, but a second corner one minute later produced a goal. Schalke keeper Loris Karius managed to parry Ginter’s header off Scherhant’s service from the left. A lurking Maximilian Eggestein then punched home the rebound from close range. With plenty of confidence, and some heroic deep drop work from striker Igor Matanovic, the hosts continued to keep a stranglehold on the match. The ball circulated freely among the Freiburg ranks, with several more SCF breakthroughs coming on the left. Deep ball wins from Matanovic produced two more Freiburg chances before the 20-minute mark. In both cases, Matanovic rushed forward to receive the ball on attacking charges he initiated from midfield. The Baden side recorded five shots before former Freiburg striker Junior Adamu finally brushed a ball towards SCF keeper Mio Backhaus in the 22nd minute. Schalke incursions met with rolling Freiburg counterattacks Muslic’s charges took more risks as the half-hour mark approached, yet only found themselves vulnerable to repeated Freiburg counters coming from all directions. Former German international Robin Gosens met stiff resistance from recent Germany starter Philipp Treu, himself assisted by former Germany call-up Jan-Niklas Beste in an apparent double-team of the Schalke left. It genuinely seemed as if there would be no way back into the match for the visiting Westphalians. A set-piece then unexpectedly cancelled out Freiburg’s dominance from open play. Guests equalize off a corner A poor clearance from Backhaus in the 30th minute placed the ball directly onto the foot of Bundesliga debutant Adrian Gantenbein. The 25-year-old rookie didn’t hesitate. With the help of a slight deflection off Kenan Karaman, die Königsblauen were able to equalize completely against the run of play. Muslic’s men were able to carry some confidence forward from the tally while Freiburg looked increasingly unsorted in midfield. The best chance at restoring the lead came in the 39th minute, when the Blues nearly steered the ball into their own net following some pinball outside the box. Mostly preoccupied with defensive work as the clock ticked toward halftime, Freiburg were nevertheless able to move the ball forward on a couple of occasions. The ever-lively Scherhant supplied some sparkle with committed dribbling work in the box near the end of the opening 45. Schalke gradually improve, Freiburg counter threatens Schuster’s team looked lively after the restart, once again combining well on the counter whenever pressing Schalke off the ball. Beste, Treu, and Yannick Engelhardt nonetheless failed to find the right ball when approaching the final third, and there were no chances generated by either side during the first ten minutes of the second half. In general, the football remained at an optically acceptable level, with Schalke gradually finding their way into the game offensively through more midfield ball wins. By the time the hour mark passed, Muslic’s men were looking the far better side. Freiburg reduced to ten men While the first half didn’t feature a single booking, match official Martin Petersen began reaching for his cards after the change of ends. Unfortunately for Freiburg, Yuito Suzuki picked up two cautions. The resurgent Japanese international was booked for dissent in the 49th minute after kicking a ball away in frustration. In the 64th minute, Petersen deemed Suzuki’s stamp on Sofiane El-Faouzi worthy of a second yellow. After a period during which both sides employed substitutes and reset tactically, Schalke emerged as the primary aggressor. Schuster’s subs sting Despite the fact that they were shorthanded, the Breisgauer were able to break through on the counter on a few occasions. A Scherhant slip in the box in the 80th minute nixed perhaps the best opportunity for the hosts to reclaim the lead. It did appear as if it simply wasn’t to be. It was the man who replaced Scherhant, however, who would help bail out the club for whom he recently became the all-time leading goalscorer . The SCF legend had barely entered the pitch before supplying fellow substitute Keisuke Goto with an excellent cross. Goto headed home in the 85th minute to restore Freiburg’s lead. SCF sub Cyriaque Irié very nearly added another shorthanded goal at 90+3. SC Freiburg Player Ratings Backhaus ( 4 ) – Treu ( 6 ), Ginter ( 6 ), Lienhart ( 7 ), Makengo ( 6 ) – M. Eggestein ( 7 ), Engelhardt ( 5 ) – Beste ( 7 ), Y. Suzuki ( 5 ), Scherhant ( 7 ) – Matanovic ( 7 ) Substitutes: Vincenzo Grifo ( 7 ), Keisuke Goto ( 7 ), Lucas Höler ( 6 ), Cyriaque Irié ( 6 ), Lukas Kübler (-) FC Schalke 04 Player Ratings Loris Karius ( 6 ) – Wöber ( 6 ), Katic ( 7 ), Kurucay ( 7 ) – El-Faouzi ( 4 ), Tanaka ( 5 ), Gantenbein ( 6 ), Gosens ( 5 ) – Adamu ( 4 ), Karaman ( 6 ) – Sylla ( 7 ) Substitutes: Edin Dzeko ( 5 ), Ron Schallenberg ( 5 ), Timo Becker ( 4 ), Adil Aouchiche ( 4 ), Hee-Chan Hwang ( 4 ) GGFN Bundesliga Player of the Match: Vincenzo Grifo (7) Almost any player in the Freiburg defensive line could have earned our MOTM honors, particularly in light of the stalwart defensive work that prevented Schalke from exploiting the man advantage. Both Beste and Scherhant also put in enough quality work to merit consideration. Few players, however, had enough time to influence the match as dramatically as Grifo. Freiburg’s record goalscorer needed only a matter of minutes after entering the pitch to provide the delivery for Goto’s decisive header. On a night when Freiburg required one final moment of quality, their eternal club man supplied it. GGFN  |  Peter Weis