The Breisgauer were able to rush out to an early 2-0 lead courtesy of a handball penalty and a Ritsu Doan goal. After that, however, the German hosts mostly shut down and carefully managed the game.
The German hosts immediately poured forward. Eggestein and Doan were able to engineer some early chances. Five minutes in, the Breisgauer were awarded a penalty when Qarabag’s Tural Bayramov was judged to have handled a ball inside the area. Vincenzo Grifo converted from the spot and the Badeners had their early 1-0 lead. Buoyed by this, the hosts proceeded to dominate proceedings over the next ten minutes.
At the quarter-of-an-hour mark, Streich’s men were able to double their advantage. Doan continued his impressive start for his new club with an impressive bit of dribbling skill as he cut inside the area. The Japanese international out-deked his marker, moved in the center, and fired home an emphatic finish. The dream start was complete. Freiburg continued to dominate possession, but did take their foot off the gas pedal a bit.
Qarabag were able to pull a goal back as a result of this. The Azerbaijani guests gradually grew bolder and were able to capture more of the ball. In the 39th, Eggestein turned the ball over in his own area. A quick circulation among three players ultimately allowed Mark Vesovic to have a go from the half-right space. SCF keeper Mark Flekken didn’t do a particularly good job tracking the effort and the ball found its way into the back of the net.
Freiburg didn’t see the need to switch out of “cruise control” for both the duration of the first-half and much of the second 45. Most regrettably for all onlookers, Streich’s men simply passed around leisurely and took no major risks after the restart. The game flattened out significantly, with only Qarabag generating a couple of shots on target. There was nothing attacking wise from the hosts until Petersen headed over in the 64th.
Substitutes and stoppages kept reducing the flow until the tempo practically grounded to a complete halt. Qarabag striker Owusu Kwabena missed his side’s last best chance at an equalizer with a flash over the bar at 90+5.
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