Nico Schlotterbeck scored a brilliant late winner to snatch a 3-2 win for Freiburg over Wolfsburg, who had fought back to equalise after being 2-0 down at half-time.

Freiburg 3-2 Wolfsburg
Goals: 1-0 Grifo (7'), 2-0 Grifo 44' (assist: Höfler), 2-1 Kruse 52' (assist: Arnold), 2-2 Arnold 84', 3-2 N. Schlotterbeck 87' (assist: Petersen)

Freiburg were on a five-game unbeaten run prior to kick-off and duly began the match with the confidence of a team with momentum on their side. They seized the initiative right from the off, refusing to allow Wolfsburg any time on the ball or indeed in their half; the Wolves failed to have a single shot at goal in the first 45 minutes. Christian Streich’s men showed them how it is done at the other end of the pitch, with Grifo opening the scoring early on with a sublime direct free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards. Ermedin Demirovic hit the post shortly afterwards and later was a whisker away from converting a teasing Christian Günter cross, while Lucas Höler forced a full-stretch save from Pavao Pervan from the edge of the box. Freiburg managed to get a deserved second goal just before the interval when Grifo volleyed in from Nicolas Höfler’s left-wing cross.

If the Wolves had looked rather tame in the first half, they re-emerged for the second with considerably more bite and soon reduced the deficit. Maximilian Arnold found Max Kruse with a beautifully threaded pass through the Freiburg defence, and the veteran forward made no mistake from 10 yards out. The match became very much a cat-and-mouse affair as a consequence, with neither side wanting to risk too much while also seeking the decisive next goal. Demirovic drew another save from Pervan with a smart drive to the near post, while Lukas Nmecha and Jonas Wind fired off target for Wolfsburg in reply. The visitors looked to have salvaged a point in the closing stages when Arnold lashed in after Freiburg struggled to clear a cross into the box, but Schlotterbeck had the final say, rifling in a swerving winner from the edge of the area to keep his side fourth in the standings.

Match stats

• Grifo is now Freiburg's top scorer this season with seven goals. He scored from a direct free-kick for the second time in 2021/22, having previously done so against Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 2.
• The Italian midfielder registered a brace in the Bundesliga for the first time ever.
• The Black Forest club have now scored nine times in the first ten minutes of their matches this term.
• Freiburg have now netted a league-high 20 times from set-pieces this season. Grifo has delivered the ball for 17 of those.
• Kruse's goal was his seventh in the Bundesliga in this campaign, and second for Wolfsburg since joining from Union Berlin in January.
• Arnold picked up his first assist of the season, to go with his third goal.

Watch: Nico Schlotterbeck talks us through his winning goal

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Line-ups

Freiburg: Flekken – Gulde, K. Schlotterbeck, N. Schlotterbeck – Schmid (Sildillia 84'), Haberer (Sallai 83'), Höfler, Günter (c.) – Höler, Demirovic (Petersen 85'), Grifo (Weißhaupt 90'+4)
Unused subs: Vermeij, Uphoff, Engelhardt, Schmidt
Out: Keitel (broken toe), Schade (muscular)
Coach: Christian Streich 

Wolfsburg: Pervan – Lacroix, Bornauw (Bialek 83'), Brooks – Mbabu (Baku 76'), Schlager (Vranckx 76'), Arnold (c), Roussillon (Steffen 76') – Philipp (L. Nmecha 55'), Kruse - Wind
Unused subs: Klinger, Gerhardt, Lukébakio, Waldschmidt
Out: Otavio (knee), Van de Ven (thigh), William (knee), Casteels (hip)
Coach: Florian Kohfeldt 

About the clubs

VfL Wolfsburg

Volkswagen Arena

SC Freiburg

Europa-Park Stadion