Bundesliga Player Ratings | Freiburg 2 -0 Union Berlin

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Julian Schuster’s SC Freiburg have responded to Bundesliga matchday nine victories from Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig with one of their own. Schuster’s Breisgauer secured their sixth Bundesliga victory of the 2026/27 campaign, consolidating their top-four place as European football heads into the final international break of the 2026 calendar year. Freiburg will spend the next weeks in third place in the Bundesliga table after defeating Union Berlin 2-0 at home.

Fresher guests put up sustained early fight

Schuster made four changes to the team he fielded in Thursday’s Conference League encounter in Trabzon. Recently recalled German national team right back Philipp Treu was deemed fit enough to return to the starting XI, moving Thursday’s goal-scorer Lukas Kübler back to the bench. In attack, Yuito Suzuki, Jan-Niklas Beste, and Treu’s fellow German national team recall Derry Scherhant took over for Cyriaqué Irié, Keisuke Goto, and Vincenzo Grifo. Lustrinelli, by contrast, stuck with the XI that earned his team their third consecutive league draw against Köln last weekend.

The fact that the visitors from Köpenick possessed a full week of rest was certainly apparent in the opening minutes. Union pressed hard off the ball and managed to disrupt the favored side’s rhythm over the course of the opening ten minutes. Freiburg found themselves prone to turnovers, plenty of misplaced passes, and blocked shots as they attempted to drive toward the FCU net. Igor Matanovic placed a header on target in the 9th minute, a relatively soft effort that at least constituted the Breisgau club’s first attempt on goal.

Impressively enough, Lustrinelli’s charges continued to stand their ground as the quarter-of-an-hour mark passed. The hosts did begin looking more comfortable in possession, but Union ensured that Freiburg at no point looked truly dangerous. Scherhant worked his way into the box on a couple of occasions, and there were more crosses sent in Matanovic’s direction. Freiburg nevertheless remained without a genuine scoring chance. Even off a free kick in a promising position (19th), a potentially dangerous long throw (20th), and a full scramble in front of the net (24th), Schuster’s men simply couldn’t threaten.

Freiburg can’t pick the FCU lock

Despite trying what appeared to be every last possible permutation on attack builds, Schuster’s men simply couldn’t achieve the breakthrough. A match that, admittedly, featured some sloppy play from both teams descended into a prolonged lull as halftime approached. In many cases, SCF passing sequences involving ten or more passes simply weren’t enough to draw Lustrinelli’s team out of their strict zonal lock. SCF players rotated, dropped deep, and passed themselves dizzy to no avail.

Apart from a Suzuki effort in the 37th minute and another Matanovic header in the 42nd, nothing came close to troubling FCU keeper Frederik Rønnow. Both chances did result in corners, from which the Schwarzwälder simply couldn’t produce anything. Halftime arrived with every last match statistic ridiculously skewed in the direction of the hosts. Metrics such as a literal 74-25 possession split and 10-0 shot tally nevertheless didn’t translate to anything beyond a 0-0 scoreline.

Lustrinelli tries to liven up the tempo

A double substitution at the break at least served as an attempt by the Union trainer to liven up proceedings somewhat. Two new offensive actors, Woo-Yeong Jeong and the notoriously pacy Scotsman Oliver Burke, entered in order to at least give Union a chance to engineer a few chances on the counter. There were one or two instances in which Rønnow came close to unlocking Burke on quick counters, but Union weren’t able to accomplish much beyond opening themselves up slightly at the back.

The breakthrough finally comes

Freiburg managed to threaten in a more consistent fashion than during the opening 45, with Scherhant (51st) and Suzuki (52nd) knocking on the door. Suzuki came very close on his chance, lacing the ball into the side netting from close range. Suzuki would initially be credited with the ball that did find the back of the net in the 55th minute. Later, however, replays confirmed that Beste had last touched the ball that ended up being diverted by FCU captain Rani Khedira into his own net. Freiburg were finally up 1-0 ten minutes after the restart.

Suzuki scores one that counts

Union naturally began to take more risks after the opener and were eventually undone by a Freiburg counter some 12 minutes later. Union broke through the SCF lines on a pair of occasions, but couldn’t generate any real scoring chances. Burke found himself in the best position to draw the capital city side level in the 61st, yet could only shoot over. German international Scherhant typically sprung the SCF counters back the other way. It was Scherhant who quickly sent Suzuki into space after a high recovery for the 2-0 in the 67th minute. The nine-cap Japanese international finished coolly over the onrushing Rønnow.

Breisgauer cruise to victory

Union posed no significant challenge after Suzuki doubled the advantage. In point of fact, die Eisernen could count themselves exceedingly lucky that Freiburg didn’t run up the score. Vincenzo Grifo failed to convert a penalty in the 84th minute. Off the ensuing corner after the penalty, freshly subbed-on SCF striker Lucas Höler found himself denied the 3-0 by an excellent Rønnow reflex save. The final three minutes of normal time and five minutes of added time were played in silence whilst both sets of supporters acknowledged a medical emergency in the stands.

SC Freiburg Player Ratings

Mio Backhaus (6) – Philipp Treu (6), Matthias Ginter (6), Philipp Lienhart (6), Jordy Makengo (6) – Maximilian Eggestein (5), Yannik Engelhardt (7), Jan-Niklas Beste (8), Yuito Suzuki (9), Derry Scherhant (6) – Igor Matanovic (5)

Substitutes: Keisuke Goto (5), Vincenzo Grifo (5), Patrick Osterhage (5), Lukas Kübler (-), Lucas Höler (-)

Union Berlin Player Ratings

Frederik Rönnow (6) – Janik Haberer (6), Zeno van den Bosch (5), Marvin Friedrich (4), Derrick Köhn (3) – Rani Khedira (4), Andras Schäfer (5), Michel Aebischer (4), Kastriot Imeri (4), Livan Burcu (4) – Tim Skarke (3)

Substitutes: Woo-Yeong Jeong (4), Oliver Burke (4), Andrej Ilic (3), Linus Güther (4), Tom Rothe (3)

GGFN Bundesliga Player of the Match: Yuito Suzuki (9)

One of Freiburg’s most determined players throughout was No. 10 Yuito Suzuki. The player previously profiled by Get German Football News had appeared to lose some of his resolve this season and, indeed, the 25-year-old hadn’t managed to get his name on a match scoresheet since his unfortunate sending-off against Schalke on matchday five. Some talk of Suzuki being replaced by countryman Keisuke Goto had cropped up recently. Suzuki’s performance from the very start appeared to be something of a response to this.

The Japanese international certainly backed up his determination with the necessary physical effort. Suzuki covered 10.53 kilometres, registered 25 sprints, and reached a top speed of 32.9 km/h. His tireless running helped him remain involved throughout, while his willingness to attack spaces and take on opponents provided Freiburg with a valuable attacking outlet.

Suzuki recorded 44 touches, completed 77 percent of his 30 passes, and succeeded with one of his two attempted dribbles. The 25-year-old also created one shooting opportunity and contested seven duels, winning three.

Most importantly, Suzuki finally made his mark on the scoresheet again. His goal came from one of three shots and an accumulated expected goals tally of 0.50. The finish supplied the tangible reward for a performance characterized by determination, movement, and renewed attacking confidence.

After a frustrating period in which his place in the starting XI had increasingly come under discussion, Suzuki delivered precisely the sort of response Freiburg needed from their Japanese playmaker.

Honourable Mention: Jan-Niklas Beste (8)

Jan-Niklas Beste deserves special recognition for an extraordinarily industrious performance on Freiburg’s flank. The 27-year-old absolutely ran his socks off over the full 90 minutes, covering 11.56 kilometres, completing 32 sprints, and reaching a top speed of 32.5 km/h. Beste’s tireless running and willingness to carry the ball forward helped Freiburg cover considerable ground in attack.

The German international’s contributions were by no means restricted to physical effort. Beste registered an assist, created four shooting opportunities, and accumulated 0.23 expected assists. He also recorded 69 touches, attempted six dribbles with a 67 percent success rate, and completed half of his four crosses.

Beste’s commitment extended to his defensive and physical work as well. He won 60 percent of his ten contested duels, repeatedly demonstrating the determination required to compete across the entire pitch.

Suzuki may have earned the top individual honour, but Beste’s exceptional work rate, attacking enterprise, and direct contribution to the scoresheet were equally important elements of Freiburg’s performance.

GGFN | Peter Weis