Kuebler brace sends Freiburg past Braga into Europa League final
Freiburg celebrate Lukas Kuebler's second goal which secured progress to the Europa League final. (Silas STEIN) Lukas Kuebler scored in each half as Freiburg beat Braga 3-1 at home on Thursday to win 4-3 on aggregate and and qualify for the Europa League final where they will face Aston Villa. Freiburg trailed by a goal from the opening leg but were given a leg up after seven minutes when Mario Dorgeles of Braga received a straight red card.
Kuebler's opener and Johan Manzambi's brilliant effort had the hosts 2-0 up and one ahead in the tie by half-time. Kuebler added another in the second-half. Pau Victor pulled one back for Braga late, Freiburg held on to reach a first European final.
Goalscorer Kuebler said the result was a "dream come true" and thanked the home fans. "The atmosphere was unbelievable throughout -- the fans carried us. " Freiburg have never won a major trophy nor qualified for the Champions League but could do both with a win over Villa in the final in Istanbul.
Freiburg defender Matthias Ginter, who won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, said Thursday's game was "the most important home match in the club's history", but called on his side to go one better in the final. "And now we've got the biggest match in the club's history -- and we're going to give it a real go. " The defeat ended Braga's hopes of returning to the Europa League final for the first time since 2011, when they lost 1-0 to domestic rivals Porto.
Locked at 1-1 for much of the opening leg, Braga winger Dorgeles' late goal gave Braga a first-leg advantage. Braga coach Carlos Vicens rewarded the Ivorian, naming him in the starting XI in the only change. Just seven minutes in however, Dorgeles turned villain for the visitors.