SC Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen produced a breathless 3-3 draw in the Bundesliga, with Freiburg twice leading before having to come from behind to salvage a point that keeps their European hopes flickering.
Freiburg were the brighter side in the early stages despite having less of the ball. Jan-Niklas Beste was denied by a last-ditch Alejandro Grimaldo intervention, who had to stretch to turn away a dangerous driven cross from Yuito Suzuki. Leverkusen had a nervous moment of their own when Robert Andrich was forced into emergency defensive action after goalkeeper Janis Blaswich could only parry, though a penalty appeal was waved away.
The breakthrough came in the 34th minute when Vincenzo Grifo bundled home a scuffed finish, but the goal carried real significance. It was his 105th for the club, drawing him level with Nils Petersen as Freiburg’s all-time joint top scorer.
The goal sparked the game into life. Christian Kofane levelled almost immediately with a crisp first-time finish from the edge of the box, before Freiburg retook the lead when Suzuki finished smartly after a clever dummy from Igor Matanovic. Grimaldo then had the final say of an extraordinary first half, curling in a trademark free-kick to make it 2-2 at the break.
Leverkusen came out with purpose after the interval and took the lead for the first time in the 52nd minute through Martin Terrier, who capped a sharp run with a tidy finish for his first Bundesliga goal since December. Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu recovered well to deny Kofane from close range shortly after, keeping his side in contention.
The hosts continued to press and came close through Johan Manzambi, whose slaloming run deserved a better finish. It looked as though the points were heading to Leverkusen, but Matthias Ginter had other ideas, popping up in the box to level with his second goal in three games. Ginter then thought he had won it in the closing stages, but was flagged offside to ensure the match ended level.
The draw extends Freiburg’s unbeaten home run to 16 games stretching back to the opening day of the season. They remain eighth, while Leverkusen continue to lose ground in the race for a top-four finish. Sonnet 4.6
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