BERLIN, Sep 27: Freiburg coach Christian Streich shed tears and joined fans in the stand after his team beat Augsburg 3-0 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
It was Freiburg’s last game in the scenic Dreisamstadion with its Black Forest views, which the club had been enjoying since 1954. The club’s senior team is moving after the international break to a new, bigger stadium on the other side of the city.
“A fitting end to a memorable stadium,” Freiburg captain Christian Günter said.
Streich’s players attacked from the start against Augsburg, forcing an early corner, before Lukas Kübler opened the scoring in the sixth minute. Kübler scored off a rebound after Rafa Gikiewicz saved Günter’s initial shot.
Lucas Höler lifted the ball over Gikiewicz for Freiburg’s second in the 25th, and Vincenzo Grifo converted a penalty for 3-0 in the 31st. It was the 999th goal scored in 360 Bundesliga games at the stadium. And the last.
Freiburg is one of only two unbeaten teams in the Bundesliga after six rounds. Bayern Munich, which stretched its lead at the top to three points over the weekend, is the other team.
Borussia Mönchengladbach highlighted Borussia Dortmund’s reliance on its two star players Erling Haaland and Marco Reus as it dealt its Bundesliga rival a 1-0 defeat in former Gladbach coach Marco Rose’s return on Saturday.
Dortmund was without top-scoring forward Haaland due to what it said were “muscular problems” and captain Reus because of a knee injury. Haaland was directly involved in 11 goals from Dortmund’s first five Bundesliga games, while Reus set up four and scored one. The visitors found they couldn’t be replaced, though Mahmoud Dahoud’s first-half sending off also hampered efforts at a comeback.
Denis Zakaria’s 37th-minute goal was enough for Gladbach’s second win in six games to ease the pressure on Adi Hütter.
Also Sunday, Bochum and Stuttgart drew 0-0. (AP)
