It was the duel for third place in the Bundesliga half-time table. The fact that Bayer 04 Leverkusen wanted to place themselves behind Borussia Dortmund after 17 match days was based on the self-image of the Rhinelander; The fact that SC Freiburg could also feel at home in the Champions League before the second half of the season can be seen as a welcome surprise when looking back at the first part of the season of the 2021/22 round of a competition that is usually dominated by the league establishment. The duel between the family-run Baden sports club and the Bayer subsidiary's subsidiary was a delightful test of strength in the new Freiburg football stadium from the outset.

In the end it went out in favor of the South Baden team, who won the game 2-1 with Kevin Schade's goal shortly before the final whistle (84th minute). Before that, Grifo had put Freiburg in the lead with a penalty kick (33rd), which Aranguiz egaised (45th + 1). Coach Streich's team is going into the short winter break, which ends on January 7th, with a good feeling; Bayer 04, on the other hand, have now been without a win for three games and are therefore well advised to return to the brisk attacking football from the first part of the first half of the season.

"We are not lacking in self-confidence, we dare to deliver a real fight to Leverkusen," said Streich before the top game under ghostly Corona circumstances. His Swiss colleague Gerardo Seoane had announced after two playful 2-0 leads in the 2: 5 defeat in Frankfurt as in the 2: 2 against Hoffenheim that his playfully gifted team would be a shot more competition toughness would. Bayer 04 are already in last place on the fair play table and had to do without French wing acrobat Moussa Diaby on Sunday because of a yellow-red card. This means that one of the Leverkusen drive axles was missing,And because Wirtz and the second best Bundesliga scorer Patrik Schick (16 goals) did not get up to speed as desired before the break, the Bayer attack was lame for a long time.

The game was determined by the people of South Baden, who approached the game with verve and were immediately dangerous on goal with Nico Schlotterbeck's and Hoeller's shots (1st / 3rd), which were saved by goalkeeper Hradecky, the best Leverkusen player. For the opening goal, however, Freiburg needed a Leverkusen player like Frimpong, who blocked a shot from Jeong like a goalkeeper with his left hand. The subsequent penalty was used by Grifo, who recently failed against Hoffenheim, with an artful lift to make it 1-0. When Leverkusen came up afterwards, the 750 spectators in the stadium didn't suspect anything bad because Bayer 04's actions lacked the necessary pressure. So a set piece helped the team seconds before the half-time whistle. Wirtz's corner was extended by Tah with an overhead kick so that Aranguiz was able to score the 1-1 with a header.A lucky interim result for Leverkusen.

After that, not much happened for a long time, even if the Leverkusen game shares increased.

Had the near winter break already had its tempting effect?

At Freiburg the pace slowed, at Leverkusen one shot too much was routine.

And so a touch of boredom ran through this fast top game with tough phases before the break.

But only until six minutes before the end, when the substitute Demirovic played the substitute damage so well that the U21 international had no trouble shooting the ball into the Leverkusen goal from close range for the winning goal for Freiburg.

A final point worth seeing for the new third place in the Bundesliga.