Freiburg Fly to Third in Bundesliga After 2-0 Win Over Union Berlin

Freiburg are sitting third in the Bundesliga, two points behind leaders Bayern Munich, after a 2-0 home win over Union Berlin on Sunday. Rani Khedira turned the ball into his own net and Yuito Suzuki added the second. The result stretches Freiburg's winning streak in all competitions to four matches.

The club has never finished higher than third, a mark set in 1994/95 under long-serving coach Volker Finke. They have come close in recent years, landing in the top seven in four of the last five seasons. Julian Schuster, appointed in July 2024 and now in his third campaign, is the man behind the current push.

Schuster credited patience for the win over Union. We had to be very patient and yet we remained very confident, he said. We didn't have many opportunities, but we allowed very little ourselves. Union coach Mauro Lustrinelli had praised Freiburg's attractive style before kickoff and said he wanted his own side to emulate it.

The goals are flowing in a way they did not last season. Freiburg have scored 20 so far, averaging 2.22 per game compared with 1.50 last term. Only Bayern, with 29, and RB Leipzig, on 27, have scored more.

Freiburg head to promoted Elversberg after the international break. Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen climbed to fifth with a 2-1 win at Cologne in the Rhine derby, Aleix Garcia and Patrik Schick scoring before Said El Mala pulled one back in added time. Hoffenheim moved up to ninth, beating second-bottom Schalke 2-1 through Fisnik Asllani and Tim Lemperle.