Berlin: Ritsu Doan’s goal helped Freiburg cement their fourth place in the table after moving 1-0 past Cologne at the 30th round in Bundesliga.
Cologne took the reins from the starting whistle and came close with 21 minutes played when Freiburg goalkeeper Mark Flekken had to be on guard to defuse Linton Maina’s effort on target, reports Xinhua.
Flekken remained in the thick of things as he tipped Eric Martel’s close-range header around the post with a great reflex two minutes later.
Freiburg showed signs of life at the half-hour mark when Lucas Holer forced Cologne goalkeeper Marvin Schwabe into action.
The visitors increased the pressure before the break, but Holer’s long-range effort got palmed away by Schwabe.
Freiburg eventually opened the scoring after the restart as Holer flicked on a corner into the path of Doan, who nodded home with a diving header at the far post in the 54th minute.
The Breisgauer had the chance to extend their lead five minutes later but for all that Michael Gregoritsch couldn’t beat Schwabe.
Cologne pressed frenetically for a draw, but Freiburg’s defence stood firm and secured the third straight victory.
“It was certainly not the better team that won today, but the luckier one. Cologne played very well, hats off. We had an outstanding goalkeeper, good phases before and after half-time and we defended like crazy. The mentality of the boys is why we don’t lose such close games,” said Freiburg coach Christian Streich.
Elsewhere, Union Berlin played out a goalless stalemate with in-form Bayer Leverkusen.
Leipzig remain in the hunt for a berth in Europa as the Red Bulls edged Hoffenheim on the sole goal from Christopher Nkunku.
Stuttgart secured vital points in the relegation battle after seeing off ten-men Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 thanks to the goals from Serhou Guirassy and Tanguy Coulibaly.
Eintracht Frankfurt gave away a narrow lead and shared the spoils with Augsburg following a 1-1 while relegation threatened Schalke shocked Werder Bremen with a 2-1 injury time comeback.
–IANS