Europe League
Grifo ensures Freiburg win against Topola
Vincenzo Grifo was the match winner for Freiburg with his three goals. photo
© Tom Weller/dpa
Vincenzo Grifo puts the ball into the net three times. So he lets SC Freiburg celebrate against Bačka Topola in the Europa League. But an injured duo is causing concern.
Vincenzo Grifo and standards are mostly promising from SC Freiburg’s point of view. This was also the case with the 3:1 (0:1) success in the Europa League at FK TSC Bačka Topola.
In Serbia, the Italian international soccer player scored twice from dead balls – once with a penalty (49th) and once with a directly converted free kick (59th). He crowned his performance from the game in the 73rd minute. The victory means a big step towards the knockout round for Freiburg, but the serious injuries to Roland Sallai and Maximilian Philipp dampened their joy.
The Breisgauers had the game under control for long periods, but in the 13th minute they lost control for a few moments. After a long ball, Nemanja Petrovic took the surprising lead. The sports club scored two more goals, but they were not recognized because they were offside.
After three games, Freiburg now have six points. The Serbian runner-up has only collected one point in Group A.
The guests went into the game confidently, but not arrogantly. “The boys don’t go there to underestimate the opponent,” said coach Christian Streich and explained in an interview on “RTL+” why he decided not to make any changes compared to the 2-1 home win in the Bundesliga against VfL Bochum. “I didn’t want to change anything so we could get stability.”
He wanted to counteract the physicality of the home team with speed. But it was exactly this speed that was missing in the retreat when the goal was conceded. Manuel Gulde couldn’t stop the cross and Matthias Ginter let his opponent run. Petrovic used his space. “It wasn’t well defended,” said sports director Klemens Hartenbach during half-time. He missed the goal-oriented solutions from his players.
But Hartenbach was more worried about Sallai and Philipp than the result. The Hungarian international had to leave the field due to a muscle injury and Philipp fell on his shoulder. “The changes due to injuries are the most annoying,” he said and added with a view to the game on Sunday (5.30 p.m./DAZN) against league leaders Bayer Leverkusen: “Both will definitely be out.”
The character of a cup game in which the underdog was waiting for a counterattack and Freiburg were the favorites hardly changed after the break. However, the Freiburg team could rely on Grifo’s strong nerves. First he converted the penalty after a handball from Sasa Jovanovic. And a little later he followed up with a direct free kick.
The resistance of the home team was broken. But Freiburg hadn’t had enough and cheered again thanks to Grifo.