Europe League
Thanks to Sallai and Moral: Freiburg’s victory “for eternity”
Roland Sallai was the most noticeable man on the pitch in the game against RC Lens. The 26-year-old literally forced his two goals. photo
© Harry Langer/dpa
Roland Sallai’s energetic performance in the dramatic round of 16 against Lens is emblematic of Freiburg’s fighting spirit. Coach Christian Streich also praises others.
Roland Sallai truly deserved his coach’s praise. The Hungarian played an “extraordinarily good game,” said coach Christian Streich after SC Freiburg’s hard-fought entry into the round of 16 Europe League. Thanks to two goals from Sallai (67th minute/90th+2), the Baden team forced extra time against RC Lens after being 2-0 down. In this, Michael Gregoritsch (99th) scored to give the Bundesliga club a deserved 3-2 win.
“This is something for eternity. Something that will be talked about forever,” said Gregoritsch about the success of the Baden team, who, like in the 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in the league a few days earlier, had shown great morale. “It was a special evening and something very, very extraordinary,” emphasized Streich.
Sallai was the most noticeable man on the pitch. The 26-year-old literally forced his two goals – even if both shots were decisively deflected. Streich commented on the national player’s energetic performance that he had been “in very good shape for weeks.” “He’s also very disciplined and leaves out a few things that weren’t good for him and his game.”
Streich also praised Freiburg’s team spirit. The players who were not in the starting line-up “showed themselves very, very professionally” and, after being substituted, made a decisive contribution to the team getting “brutal rolling” after the break. Ultimately, the Breisgauers were the better team in both games, he said – and therefore deserved to move on to the next round.