SC Freiburg made it three league wins in a row when they beat 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2-0 on Friday evening.
The visitors dominated proceedings, and will have been disappointed at the break to go in with the game still goalless given how much of the ball they had seen and the amount of chances they had created.
However, just as Kaiserslautern started to grow into the game, Freiburg took the lead, with Amir Abrashi breaking the deadlock with a delightful finish on 72 minutes.
Karim Guédé assisted that one, and he would create the second too, putting it on a plate for Nils Petersen to tap home and ensure victory with three minutes remaining.
Team news
Following a short international break, the 2. Bundesliga returned on Friday night, with one of three fixtures for the evening seeing second placed Freiburg travel to face sixth placed Kaiserslautern.
The visitors, looking for an immediate return to the Bundesliga following relegation in May, have lost just one game all season, with that coming against the early pacesetters VfL Bochum, whereas their opponents today have won just one of their last four games.
The hosts faced no new injury concerns as they looked to return to winning ways either, however, there were always bound to be changes to their team following a 3-1 defeat at 1. FC Heidenheim last time out.
The most notable change was that of formation, with Kaiserslautern switching to a 4-2-3-1 set up from their usual 4-4-2 - striker Antonio Colak sacrificed for the introduction of Marcus Piossek in order to suit this switch.
Freiburg, on the other hand, had no injuries in their squad, but were still without defender Marc Torrejón, who was suspended following a red card against Bochum. This was the final match remaining of his three game suspension.
Still, there were alterations to the team that beat SV Sandhausen, with Jonas Föhrenbach replaced by Marc-Oliver Kempf in the centre of defence, whilst Guédé filled in for the injured Vincenzo Grifo out wide.
Freiburg dominate opening exchanges
A sloppy start by the hosts was perfectly summed up by Tim Heubach's opening moments, with him booked after only four minutes as he dangerously tried to make amends for some risky play at the back with a tackle more fitting for a UFC fight than a football match.
Abrashi could have given the visitors the lead from the resulting set piece too had he connected better with a well worked free-kick, but he sliced his effort off target from the edge of the box having made his way into a dangerous position completely undetected.
Despite Kacper Przybyłko having a great chance down the other end for Kaiserslautern, breaking down the right and just dragging his shot wide of the mark, the home side continued to be put under pressure in their own half, with Freiburg pressing very high and very effectively.
Guédé and Maximilian Philipp linked up well on the 20 minute mark as the visitors looked for a goal to mark their good start, the latter exposing acres of space in midfield and bursting forward, before finding Guédé who then teed him up to strike, but, as the forward readied himself to shoot, he was completely taken out by Markus Karl, who had just been booked moments prior.
The referee did not see the incident as the clear penalty it appeared to be though, judging Philipp to have dived and waving play on. However, Guédé, who had lost his footing in the area, looked to be blocking the official's view of the challenge, which would have surely resulted in a second yellow card for Karl had it been properly seen.
Visitors cannot make chances count as score remains goalless at the break
Freiburg's dominance of the match continued as we neared the half hour mark, with Kaiserslautern completely unable to match them in midfield, whilst Petersen almost exploited their unorganised defending too, only for Karl to make amends for some poor positioning by blocking his opponent's strike just inside the area.
The striker had the ball in the back of the net moments later, latching onto Mike Frantz's header and clinically finishing, only for the linesman to correctly flag him for offside.
Kaiserslautern had another rare, bright moment in the final moments of the half, with Daniel Halfar volleying just off target from the edge of the area, whilst Freiburg created a flurry of chances as the break neared, with Petersen particularly proving to be a nuisance for the hosts.
The striker had two efforts in quick succession in the final five minutes of the first period, with one of them looping just a yard wide of the target having taken a deflection off of Heubach, whilst the other was well saved by Marius Müller - Philipp unable to do anything with the rebound but put it over the bar with an acrobatically improvised connection.
The final action of the half was another opportunity for Philipp, this one from a corner, but he could not make proper contact with the ball as he scuffed his effort straight at the 'keeper from 10 yards out, meaning the two went in at half time level, albeit with the scoreline far from reflecting proceedings thus far.
End to end start to the second half as Kaiserslautern grow into match
Freiburg picked up where they left off in the second half, with Mensur Mujdža looking to carve out a great opportunity as he burst forward, but with several options to choose from and a lack of quick decision making, the move broke down as soon as the team got into the final third.
Indecision plagued the opening exchanges after the break, with Alexander Ring guilty of it at the other end for Kaiserslautern, whilst Philipp saw another chance just before the hour as he snuck in at the back post unnoticed and volleyed into the sidenetting for Freiburg.
The half started much more even, however, with Kaiserslatuern getting into the match as Ruben Jenssen found a yard to strike inside the area, but Alexander Schwolow was there to deny him at the near post with the angle against the Red Devil.
Freiburg finally get their goal befre sealing the win
It looked like the visitors could go on to regret their inability to take their chances in the first half if their opponents continued to grow into the game like they were, yet, just as this looked to be a possibility, Freiburg broke the deadlock through Abrashi.
The goal stemmed from Stipe Vucur's error, the defender losing possession in his own half and appealing for a free-kick as he did so, but, whilst he laid on the floor waiting for the whistle, Guédé capitalised, playing in Abrashi who finished brilliantly under pressure to give his side the lead with 18 minutes to play.
Kaiserslautern needed a response and they needed it quickly if they wanted to salvage at least a point, yet Freiburg could have added to their lead when Philipp broke free with only Jean Zimmer to beat before finding himself one-on-one with the 'keeper, but the defender made an exceptionally well timed tackle to thwart the attacker just as he broke into the box.
Vucur had a great chance to make amends for his error that led to the goal as we neared the game's final 10 minutes, finding himself unmarked as the ball floated in towards him from a corner, but he was only able to find the grateful arms of Schwolow with his back post header.
However, Freiburg would wrap up the points with three minutes to spare, Guédé again the creator as he burst down the right and drilled a low cross across the face of goal, where Petersen was happily waiting and able to tap home from a few yards out to double the lead.
With Kaiserslatuern unable to muster up a late push for a goal, this was enough for all three points, with Freiburg now just a point behind Bochum at the top after they drew 1-1 with Sandhausen tonight.