Thanks to serial goalscorer Igor Matanović, SC Freiburg remains within striking distance of the European Cup places in the Bundesliga. The Baden team defeated 1. FC Köln 2-1 (2-1) at the end of the 19th matchday despite an early own goal. Matanović scored the winning goal in the 44th minute, but he also missed a hand penalty 25 minutes before the end.
SC defender Max Rosenfelder initially gave Cologne an involuntary lead in front of 34,700 spectators (10th), and Derry Scherhant scored Freiburg’s quick equalizer (11th). Then Matanović continued his strong run and scored to make it 2-1. After the attacker failed from the point, the SC had to tremble again. Ultimately, the Cologne team suffered another setback a week after the end of their long winless streak.
Rosenfelder unhappy – Scherhant clever
The game started promisingly – with two goals in just 92 seconds. First Freiburg’s Rosenfelder mishandled a cross from the busy Linton Maina from the left side into their own goal, then the hosts immediately hit back. Yuito Suzuki played a beautiful pass into Scherhant’s path, the 23-year-old cheekily and technically demandingly lofted the ball over FC keeper Marvin Schwäbe and into the net.
There were many signs pointing to a draw at the break when Matanović appeared dangerous again in the Cologne penalty area. After a cross from Niklas Beste, he initially headed at teammate Matthias Ginter, but the SC striker then scored to make it 2-1. It was his fourth goal in his fifth competitive game since the winter break. Matanović also scored the winning goal in the 1-0 win against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League last Thursday.
Schwäbe parries a penalty from Matanović
The Cologne team started the second half with plenty of momentum. Ragnar Ache failed to get a header on target (46′), a shot from Marius Bülter was strongly blocked by Lukas Kübler (49′). Shortly later, the SC defender had to go out with an injury and was replaced by Christian Günter.
In the 66th minute, Matanović could have made the preliminary decision on the other side. After Cologne’s Alessio Castro-Montes got the ball on his arm, the striker was denied a penalty by Schwäbe.
The FC tried again to equalize, coach Lukas Kwasniok brought in shooting star Said El Mala, among others. But the cathedral townspeople were rarely really dangerous. In the end, Freiburg, which has not lost a competitive game in its own stadium since the 1:3 against FC Augsburg at the start of the season, maintained a narrow lead over time.
