Lukas Kubler brace inspires Freiburg to impressive home win over Stuttgart
Following the decision of their beloved former coach Christian Streich to retire, Freiburg headed into this campaign with a new manager at the helm for the first time since the 2011/12 season.
Schuster’s first league game got off to a horrific start, as they fell behind just two minutes into the game. The goal came in exquisite fashion too, with Ermedin Demirovic directing an acrobatic scissor kick into the bottom-right corner, leaving Florian Müller rooted to the spot.
Stuttgart dominated possession after taking the lead, but they found themselves level again just before the half-hour mark when Lukas Kubler found the back of the net for the Breisgau-Brasilianer.
The goal came after Chukwubuike Adamu found the German on the edge of the box, allowing him to drill a delightful low strike across goal and into the bottom-left corner.
The hosts grew in confidence after the equaliser and went close through Merlin Rohl 10 minutes before half-time, with the midfielder making a darting run into the box before firing a strike towards goal, only to be denied by Alexander Nübel.
Freiburg continued to press for another goal after the break and managed to get one nine minutes into the second half when Ritsu Doan managed to bundle the ball over the line from close range after a teasing cross from captain Christian Gunter.
Things didn’t get any better for Sebastian Hoeness’ side, as they fell further behind just seven minutes later as Kubler found the net once again.
This time, the full-back rose highest to direct his header just inside the left post following a perfectly delivered corner by Vincenzo Grifo.
The hosts were running rampant as the game entered the closing stages, and they almost added another with 15 minutes remaining when Roland Sallai sent Nubel scrambling across goal, but the Hungarian’s effort from the edge of the box went narrowly wide of the left post.
Freiburg saw out the game with relative ease and secured an opening-day victory to follow their 4-0 win in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.
Meanwhile, Freiburg will have to wait until next Sunday for a chance to get their first points of the season when they face the daunting task of a trip to the Allianz Arena to face Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lukas Kubler (Freiburg)
