SC Freiburg has qualified for the UEFA Conference League group stage with a commanding 4:1 home win over FC Motherwell. The Bundesliga side prevailed at the Europa-Park Stadion on Thursday night, sealing a 7:2 aggregate victory after a 3:1 first-leg win.
How did the decisive match unfold?
Derry Scherhant, later named player of the match, opened the scoring for Freiburg in just the 6th minute, set up by Maximilian Eggestein. The Scottish visitors equalized in the 22nd minute through Emmanuel Longelo. The second half belonged entirely to SC Freiburg. Igor Matanovic headed home in the 60th minute from a Scherhant assist. Just three minutes later, Cyriaque Kalou Bi Irié made it 3:1 with another header, again from a Scherhant cross. Keisuke Goto applied the finishing touch with his left foot in the 85th minute. A pivotal moment was the red card shown to Motherwell's Jake Max Girdwood-Reich in the 57th minute, which ended any hope for the guests.
What tactical decisions did Julian Schuster make?
Head coach Julian Schuster made seven changes to his starting lineup ahead of the upcoming Bundesliga kick-off. Christian Günter took the captain's armband. He was joined in the team by Noah Treu, Max Rosenfelder, Merlin Engelhardt, Cyriaque Kalou Bi Irié, Derry Scherhant and Igor Matanovic. Maximilian Osterhage missed out due to muscular problems. Schuster had praised his squad's preparation, as reported by Kicker. "Als 'immens' bezeichnete Julian Schuster in den Tagen darauf die Trainingsqualität," the coach said.
What is SC Freiburg's current situation?
The European success comes at a good time for SC Freiburg. The team finished the 2025 Bundesliga season in 8th place with 40 points. Their record from 29 games showed eleven wins, seven draws and eleven defeats. The goal difference of 42 scored and 47 conceded indicates room for improvement. Ahead of the new season, the squad is without several players: Florent Muslija, Patrick Osterhage and Rihito Yamamoto are currently sidelined. An overview of the squad is available on our squad page.
What's next for Freiburg?
Focus now shifts completely to the league start. The next competitive match is away at SC Paderborn 07 on September 5th. Preparation for that task has already begun with the convincing performance against Motherwell. The team aims to carry the positive momentum from European qualification into the domestic campaign. The full schedule for the new season can be found on our fixtures page. Qualifying for the Conference League means additional matches and a chance to shine on the continental stage while looking to improve their standing in the Bundesliga.
