Free-scoring Freiburg hit Gladbach for six
Christian Streich's Freiburg re-joined the Bundesliga's top four after an astounding first-half performance - in which they struck six unanswered goals - left Borussia Mönchengladbach stunned.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-6 Freiburg
Goals: 0-1 Eggestein 2' (assist: Schade), 0-2 Schade 5' (assist: Günter), 0-3 Lienhart 12' (assist: Grifo), 0-4 Höfler 19' (assist: Grifo), 0-5 Höler (25'), 0-6 Schlotterbeck 38' (assist: Grifo)
With Freiburg having failed to win a Bundesliga game in Mönchengladbach since 1995 and the hosts still unbeaten at home this season, what followed at Borussia-Park was all the more incredible. Maximilian Eggestein kick-started the scoring in only the second minute, the 24-year-old controlling a Kevin Schade pass before prodding home his first in Freiburg colours. In a flash, Streich's men were further ahead, Schade heading his maiden top-flight goal from Christian Günter's accurate centre. Never before 2-0 up inside the first five minutes of a Bundesliga match, Freiburg subsequently let rip. Philipp Lienhart reacted quickest to Yann Sommer's parry to register the visitors' third while Gladbach's set-piece misery continued when Nicolas Höfler made it four from a corner. A spot of head tennis preceded a Lucas Höler goal in the 25th minute while the hosts failure to deal with Freiburg's dead-ball prowess was complete with when Nico Schlotterbeck headed a sixth to finish the scoring in a historic first half.
With Gladbach never before having faced such a drastic half-time deficit (their previous worst first-half scoreline reverse standing at 4-0), Adi Hütter's men could hardly have fared any worse after the restart and - despite failing to create any clear-cut chances - the hosts did menace briefly through the lively Breel Embolo. At the other end, Höler threatened to make things worse for the Foals when thumping a volley narrowly off target. In the end, that miss mattered little to a Freiburg side in festival mode and once again back among the Bundesliga's UEFA Champions League places in some style.
Watch: Schlotterbeck: "It's surreal!"
Match stats
- Freiburg's 6-0 half-time lead was only matched on four previous occasions in the Bundesliga, the last coming in April 1978 when Gladbach defeated Borussia Dortmund 12-0.
- Adi Hütter was in charge of the last team to concede six in a first half, when his Eintracht Frankfurt trailed 6-1 to Bayer Leverkusen.
- Freiburg had never before registered six goals in a top-flight game, let alone six in a first half.
- The last time Streich's men opened the scoring at such an early juncture came in October 2018, when Nils Petersen scored a first-minute penalty.
- Only Bayern (16) and Leverkusen (15) have claimed more points on the road in this season’s Bundesliga than Freiburg (14).
Watch: Hütter: "I can only apologise for the performance"
Line-ups
Gladbach: Sommer (c) – Ginter, Elvedi, Bensebaini – Lainer (Herrmann 29'), Kone, Zakaria, Scally – Hofmann, Thuram (Stindl 71') – Plea (Embolo 29')
Unused subs: Sippel, Kramer, Wolf, Netz, Benes, Neuhaus
Out: Beyer (thigh), Doucoure (Achilles), Jantschke (facial fracture)
Coach: Adi Hütter
Freiburg: Flekken – Kübler, Lienhart (Gulde 82'), N. Schlotterbeck (K. Schlotterbeck 82'), Günter (c) – Schade (Sallai 61'), Eggestein (Haberer 74'), Höfler, Grifo – Höler, Demirovic (Jeong 74')
Unused subs: Uphoff, Petersen, Sallai, Sildillia, Burkart
Out: Schmid (match fitness)
Coach: Christian Streich
Watch: Grifo: "That doesn't happen very often"
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