SC Freiburg loses the Europa League semifinal to Sporting Braga 1-2. Vincenzo Grifo scored for the Breisgauer in the 16th minute. For the Portuguese, Demir Ege Tıknaz and Mario Dorgeles scored. SC goalkeeper Noah Atubolu saved a penalty from Rodrigo Zalazar in the 45th minute. After the 0-4 defeat in Dortmund, head coach Julian Schuster returned to his A-team. Philipp Treu, Matthias Ginter, Jordy Makengo, Johan Manzambi, Niklas Beste, and Yuito Suzuki returned. At Sporting Braga, former Schalke, Frankfurt, and St. Pauli player Rodrigo Zalazar was in the starting lineup. Around 2000 traveling Freiburg fans had to endure the 0-1 deficit early on at the Estádio Municipal de Braga. Left-back Jordy Makengo headed a midfield cross to the feet of Víctor Gómez, who reacted quickly and served Demir Ege Tıknaz at the five-meter line. The midfielder kicked the ball into the net on the left side. But the Freiburg response didn't take long: Igor Matanović grabbed the ball against the advanced Portuguese at the center circle, but was stopped by Vitor Carvalho with a foul. Referee Anthony Taylor allowed the advantage, so Niklas Beste was alone on the right side with the ball. At the same time, Vincenzo Grifo ran with him and converted the cross pass coldly into the bottom left corner. In the further course of the first half, not much happened in both penalty areas until just before the break: During a corner kick by the home team, Philipp Lienhart held Gustaf Lagerbielke from behind, the Swede took the contact and went to the ground. The referee looked at the scene in the review area and decided on a penalty kick. This was saved by Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu against Zalazar. With a so far deserved 1-1 score, it went into the break. In the second half, it took around 20 minutes until the next scoring chance - and that had the sports club: Maximilian Eggestein tested Lukáš Horníček from a half-left position, who deflected the ball in the short corner. Everything suggested a deserved draw, but Braga had the last word with their only real scoring chance in the second half: Mario Dorgeles, who was substituted in before the break for club legend Ricardo Horta, scored after a rebound from Atubolu. The return leg at the Europa-Park Stadium will take place on May 7 at 9:00 PM.