Draw against Leverkusen: Freiburg makes FC Bayern champions

With a 2-2 (1-0) draw against Bayer Leverkusen, SC Freiburg defeated FC Bayern Munich to become Bundesliga champions. But there was much more in store for SCF.

Champions on the couch: After the championship celebrations were postponed on Saturday due to Leipzig's late equalizer , Bayern celebrated their title on Sunday. This was made possible because Bayer Leverkusen simply appeared harmless for far too long in the top match against SC Freiburg, and after the draw, they remain eight points behind Munich with only two games remaining.

For the SC, the draw meant that they managed to temporarily jump back to fourth place - the Breisgau team has everything in their hands when it comes to qualifying for the Champions League.

Maintaining their chance of reaching the Champions League – the sports club knew that this would only work with a lot of courage and attacking spirit against Bayer Leverkusen. So, Freiburg started the way Leverkusen usually does: dominant and with plenty of possession.

Bayer was pushed deep into their own half, and Ritsu Doan, in particular, caused a lot of activity on the right wing. The lively Japanese also created the first good opportunity for SCF. In the 17th minute, he fooled two Leverkusen players and created space and time for his teammate Vincenzo Grifo in front of the opposing goal. The Italian shot with his famously strong right foot from 22 meters - Matej Kovar in the Bayer goal saved.

Leverkusen seemed surprised by Freiburg's courage and struggled to find their usual combination play. The reigning German champions also had Florian Wirtz back in full force – but the young star, like his teammates, initially remained unnoticed. And Freiburg continued to push forward. After 33 minutes, Freiburg had a great chance for Osterhage, who had broken through on the right. Kovar in the Bayer goal, however, narrowed the angle so sharply that the Freiburg player shot at him from a tight angle.

It was up to Maximilian Eggestein to convert Freiburg's superiority into a goal: In the 44th minute, the ball bounced to his feet. 22 meters from goal, he positioned the ball—without any pressure from the opposition, by the way—and fired it into the left corner with his right foot: 1-0.

Freiburg deservedly led at halftime against an opponent who seemed to be letting the season run out. Not only when conceding the goal, Bayer were far too apathetic to gain anything against a highly motivated opponent.

Xabi Alonso's players, who were increasingly gesticulating desperately on the sidelines, carried this passivity into the second half. And they were swiftly punished. After Doan's cross, Johan Manzambi was able to head the ball into the middle unchallenged, where Piero Hincapie, under pressure from Adamu, scored an own goal to make it 2-0 (48').

Alonso responded with a triple substitution in the 55th minute, which gave the visitors a bit more momentum. However, it wasn't until the final minutes that the game really started to register a goal. Wirtz first reduced the deficit to 2-1 with a long-range shot in the 82nd minute. In stoppage time, Jonathan Tah even equalized from the scrum to at least muted celebrations on the Bayer bench.

Freiburg will play at Holstein Kiel next matchday (May 10, 3:30 p.m.). Leverkusen hosts Borussia Dortmund on Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m.).

• football
• Bundesliga
• SC Freiburg
• Bayer 04 Leverkusen