After an unsuccessful Europa League qualifying campaign, Hertha BSC needed to make sure that they got off to a good start to their Bundesliga season. They did just that as they defeated SC Freiburg at the Olympiastadion by a final score of 2-1. Vladimir Darida found the initial breakthrough before Julian Schuster pegged Hertha back in stoppage time. With little time remaining, Julian Schieber found the back of the net to secure the three points late into the day.
Slow start
During the opening 45 minutes of this encounter, the proceedings began a bit dull. It took a little over 20 minutes for either side to find their footing. This resulted in very few chances on goal. When there were opportunities in the final third, nothing really troubled either goalkeeper.
The first good look of the match fell to the visiting side in the 22nd minute. Maximilian Philipp sent Florian Niederlechner through with an excellent pass. Niederlechner managed to get a shot away, but John Anthony Brooks closed the Freiburg man down well enough to force the shot well wide of goal.
Mitchell Weiser, in the 30th minute, created space for himself by cutting back to the inside. He let fly from well outside the area and as a result, missed the frame of the goal to the left.
Hertha take the lead
In the second half, Hertha began to pile on pressure as they looked for that opening goal. Genki Haraguchi hit an excellent shot from outside of the area that got saved well by the Freiburg goalkeeper.
It took 63 minutes, but Hertha finally found their first goal of the season. Haraguchi was involved in the action again as he provided the key pass to Vedad Ibisevic. Then, Ibisevic took one touch to move the ball towards Vladimir Darida. Darida rifled his attempt into the back of the net to break the deadlock.
Freiburg nearly pulled level six minutes later. An overlapping run confused the Hertha defense for a couple of seconds. This allowed Vincenzo Grifo to hold the ball for a bit longer before just missing the far post with a good shot.
Goals in stoppage time
Off of a corner kick in the third minute of added time, Freiburg did get that equalizing goal. Grifo whipped in a great cross towards the run of Julian Schuster. Schuster redirected the ball past Hertha’s goalkeeper, Rune Jarstein.
Hertha redeemed themselves two minutes later though. Haraguchi won possession in the final third of the pitch. As the ball bounced around in the box, Julian Schieber unleashed a shot from a tight angle. The ball bounced off a Freiburg defender and it squeaked by Alexander Schwolow.
Coming up
After the international break, the Bundesliga campaign will resume. Hertha will hit the road for the first time as they take on Ingolstadt. Meanwhile, SC Freiburg will welcome in Borussia Mönchengladbach to the Schwarzwald-Stadion.