Europa League Player Ratings | Freiburg 3-1 Braga (4-3 agg) – Bundesliga representatives book passage to Final in spectacular fashion

Freiburg shook off a 2-1 defeat in the opening semi-final leg away at Braga and an unfortunate late howler from keeper Noah Atubolu to book passage to the final via a 3-1 home win. A capacity crowd at the Europa Park Stadion watched their beloved Schwarzwaldverein advance courtesy of a 4-3 aggregate scoreline. Virtually all SCF professionals rose to the occasion on this historic evening.

An early red card flips the script Buoyed by the amazing pre-kickoff choreo displays from their hometown fans, Schuster’s team began the match eager to move forward and dive into every midfield duel with full commitment. As such, early proceedings were intensely physical. Both teams pushed the limits of match official Davide Massa’s boundaries in the opening five minutes.

Massa eventually didn’t hesitate to step in. When Ivorian attacker Mario Dorgeles felled Freiburg’s Jan-Niklas Beste outside the box in the 6th-minute, Massa immediately pulled out the red card due to the denial of a clear goal scoring opportunity. Freiburg score an odd opener After Dorgeles’ sending off, the affair proved totally one-sided.

The German hosts – via Beste and Lukas Kübler – made multiple incursions down the right-hand-side. Kübler appeared destined to make something happen from open play, yet ultimately scored the 1-0 off a weird set-piece situation in the 19th-minute. Braga failed to clear a Grifo corner.