Freiburg lost their first league match of the season on Sunday, 18 October, going down 2-1 at Bayer Leverkusen and giving up top spot in the Bundesliga.
Tennis balls and an early goal
Shortly after kickoff, Freiburg's away supporters threw tennis balls onto the pitch to protest against restrictions for guests at the BayArena, and play was held up for about five minutes. Freiburg coach Julian Schuster walked toward the away block, gesturing for the fans to stop, while home supporters joined the protest, according to Spiegel Online. Jürgen Klopp, the national team coach, watched from the stands and smiled at the scenes. Derry Scherhant put Freiburg ahead in the 14th minute, slipping the ball past Mark Flekken's legs after a move down the right by Philipp Treu.
- Freiburg fans throw tennis balls onto the pitch, stopping play for about five minutes
- Derry Scherhant gives Freiburg a 1-0 lead
- Ibrahim Maza equalises for Leverkusen, 1-1
- Patrik Schick scores the winner, 2-1
Maza's equaliser and Schick's winner
Leverkusen answered within five minutes. Ibrahim Maza levelled in the 19th minute after a move that involved Patrik Schick, and the first half stayed even. Spiegel Online notes that these two goals were the only shots on target in an evenly balanced first half.
Leverkusen pushed harder after the break. Facundo Medina shot narrowly wide in the 50th minute, and Schick sent a shot over the bar in the 59th. In the 76th minute Maza beat two defenders near the corner flag and found Schick in the box, who scored the winner. It was Schick's sixth league goal in six matches. Watson reports that this took him past Dimitar Berbatov (2005/06) and Stefan Kiessling (2009/10), while RP Online calls it a sole club record. Welt adds that he is the first Bayer player to score in each of the first six league matchdays of a season.
Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said he saw elements of a top side in the team, telling Dazn that more was needed.
We still need to get more consistency and dominance within a game.
Table and what follows
Freiburg dropped to third after the defeat, with Leverkusen level on points in fourth. RP Online puts Leverkusen on 13 points. The result came after Bayern Munich beat RB Leipzig 6-1 and Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 at Union Berlin, although the Dortmund result is reported by Spiegel Online only as a draw. Leverkusen coach Carles Martinez saw his side win a fifth competitive match in a row, and both teams had played European fixtures midweek. Schuster made eight changes to the starting line-up after the 3-2 Conference League win over FK Jablonec, according to N-tv. Freiburg host Bayern next Sunday, 25 October, in the top-of-the-table clash the sides face next.