Freiburg move up to third after comeback win at Duesseldorf

Berlin: A late stunner from Gian-Luca Waldschmidt propelled Freiburg to third in the Bundesliga with a comeback 2-1 win at Fortuna Duesseldorf, confirming his side’s status as this season’s surprise package.

The boys from the Black Forest are one of five sides just a point behind leaders Bayern Munich and two ahead of Borussia Dortmund, who are down in eighth after slumping to a 2-2 home draw with Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Freiburg host Dortmund next week but coach Christian Streich refused to get carried away with his team’s high-flying position.

“It’s nice that we are already a few points above the relegation spot, that’s all that counts in Freiburg,” he said.

Duesseldorf opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, with Rouwen Hennings heading home after Freiburg keeper Alexander Schwolow misjudged a corner, rising to punch the ball free but missing it completely, allowing Hennings to score from close range.

The visitors didn’t take long to fire back however, going on the offensive immediately after conceding. Jonathan Schmid tapped in a cross from Christian Guenter in the 45th minute to level the scores.

Freiburg spurned a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 64th minute after they were awarded a penalty, but Fortuna keeper Jack Steffen pulled off a stunning stop to deny Lucas Hoeler from the spot.

The sides seemed set for a point apiece until Waldschmidt smashed an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner of the net just nine minutes after being brought off the bench.

Hertha Berlin thrashed Cologne 4-0 to win their second game a row and climb to 10th thanks in part to a four-minute brace from Vedad Ibisevic.

Javairo Dilrosun opened the scoring for the visitors in the 23rd minute with a superb strike from the edge of the box, curling the ball inside the left post.

Agencies