SC Freiburg – Maccabi Tel Aviv 1:0 (0:0)
SC Freiburg has secured early entry into the round of 16 of the Europa League. Freiburg won against Maccabi Tel Aviv on matchday 7 Europa League in front of 27,600 spectators at the Europa Park Station in Freiburg with a 1-0 (0-0) win. Igor Matanovič scored the decisive goal for Breisgauer with a header in the 82nd minute. The team thus remained undefeated in the second highest European league and celebrated their fourth home win in a row in the competition.
“It was a great victory,” said coach Julian Schuster on RTL+. “We said beforehand that discipline would decide. The boys implemented that very well. Lots of chances to score, they were patient and kept to themselves,” continued Schuster.
The game initially started cautiously from both teams. Freiburg missed their first big chance in the 17th minute. In stoppage time of the first half, goalkeeper Noah Atubolu prevented Tel Aviv from scoring after a header from Saied Abu Farchi. Ten minutes after the break it failed Freiburg Matthias Ginter after a corner to goalkeeper Roi Mishpati. Matanovič hit the crossbar in the follow-up, Yuito Suzuki missed the third attempt. Only towards the end did Matanovič make the decision.
The game was accompanied by a large police presence to prevent any anti-Semitic riots. More than 2,000 officers were on duty and entry controls led to long queues. Due to increased security precautions, some Freiburg fans boycotted the game. The round of 16 of the Europa League are scheduled for March 12th and 19th. First, Freiburg will play in the last game of the league phase at OSC Lille.
