Two jokers turn Freiburg’s derby against Stuttgart

SC Freiburg won a wild Baden-Württemberg clash against VfB Stuttgart, averting a completely bad start to the season. Two substitutes secured Freiburg's victory.

SC Freiburg celebrated its first win of the season on Matchday 3 of the new Bundesliga season, coming back from behind in front of 34,700 spectators. In the Swabian-Baden clash against VfB Stuttgart, the Breisgau club prevailed 3-1 (0-1). Against the cup winners from Stuttgart, the club conceded a goal from Ermedin Demirović in the 20th minute, crowning VfB's best period with his first goal of the season. After falling behind, Freiburg dominated the game for long stretches and rewarded themselves with goals from substitutes Igor Matanović (81st, 90th+2) and Derry Scherhant (86th). Shortly before the final whistle, Johann Manzambi received a red card (90th+8).

SC Freiburg entered the clash with VfB Stuttgart bearing the burden of two defeats in their first two matches of the season. Following their opening loss against Augsburg, Freiburg suffered a decisive 4-1 defeat at newly promoted 1. FC Köln . SC coach Julian Schuster, however, wanted the difficult task against their Swabian rivals to be viewed as an opportunity rather than a burden. "I believe this rivalry can also help us bring the energy we need onto the pitch," Schuster said before the match.

Unlike Sport-Club Freiburg, VfB managed to avoid a poor start to the season with a hard-fought victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach . However, the departure of striker Nick Woltemade to Newcastle and the injury to international Deniz Undav had shaken up the Swabians' attack . VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß fielded two new attacking signings , Badredine Bouanani (OSC Lille) and Bilal El Khannouss (Leicester City), from the start against SC Freiburg.

Both teams started the match less aggressively, but rather calmly, striving to control the game. There were no notable scoring opportunities in the first quarter of an hour, with El Khannouss attempting the first shot (16'). His right-footed shot, however, sailed well over the Freiburg goal.

The Swabians increasingly shifted the play into Freiburg's half and were rewarded for their activity in the 20th minute: Demirović, who had been unlucky so far this season, received a perfect cross from the left by Jamie Leweling. The Bosnian reacted with more than aplomb near the penalty spot, slipping the ball low with his heel past SC goalkeeper Noah Atubolu into the left corner to put them 1-0 up – a dream goal.

Freiburg had to shake off the shock of conceding a goal, and it wasn't until eight minutes later that Jan-Niklas Beste attempted SC's first ever shot on goal, with a low shot from 16 meters. VfB goalkeeper Alexander Nübel made a solid save. In the 34th minute, Manzambi tried a solo effort, but also missed.

During this period, the visitors rested somewhat on their lead and barely made it past the halfway line, let alone in front of the SC goal. Freiburg disrupted the game early on, forcing VfB back into their own penalty area. Shortly before the break, Patrick Osterhage had another header (45'+2'), but failed to put Nübel under pressure. And so the visitors went into the break with a narrow lead.

Both teams entered the second half without any personnel changes. However, the hosts continued their intensity before the break. Lukas Kübler forced Nübel into a good save with a shot from a tight angle on the right (52'). Freiburg continued to control the game, but continued to produce far too few goals.

VfB continued to hold back in attack, with Leweling attempting another shot in the 62nd minute, but it went over the SC goal. Both coaches then made their first substitutions. Freiburg's Vincenzo Grifo left the field somewhat surprisingly for Derry Scherhant, while Stuttgart's Tiago Tomás replaced Bouanani.

The substitutions initially had no impact on the game. Freiburg played well until the final third, but were unable to convert their dominance into open play – even though SC increasingly pinned the visitors in their own penalty area. To add more punch to the attack, SC coach Schuster brought on new signing Igor Matanović with just under a quarter of an hour to go. Matanović had missed the first two games with muscular problems and replaced Lucas Höler at center forward.

"I wouldn't have even believed I'd be in the squad," the substitute striker said in an ARD interview after the match. It was very early after his injury; he only started training on Tuesday. "I'm overjoyed that he [Schuster] decided to do this."

It was a substitution that proved to be the right one: just three minutes after coming on, the 22-year-old finished off an SC attack down the right flank with an unstoppable left-footed shot from almost 16 meters into the left corner under pressure. And bringing on Scherhant also proved to be the right decision. Five minutes after the equalizer, he secured the loudly celebrated – and deserved – 2-1 for the hosts by firing the ball under the bar from the left corner of the penalty area. The two substitutes had turned the game around for the hosts. "We're losing control," said VfB goalscorer Demirović, somewhat dismayed, after the match. "I thought we'd drag the game out and just win 1-0 in a dirty way."

But Freiburg's double strike wasn't over yet. In the second minute of stoppage time, Sport-Club was awarded a penalty after Manzambi was brought down by Finn Jeltsch in the penalty area. Matanović took charge and confidently converted to make it 3-1. What a debut for the center forward!

There was a slight setback shortly before the final whistle, however, when Manzambi, who had repeatedly driven Freiburg's play down the left flank, hit his opponent head-on with his foot in a challenge with Ramon Hendriks. Referee Daniel Siebert flashed the red card and sent the 19-year-old off. However, the sending-off did nothing to alter the 3-1 victory for Freiburg.

With their first win in three matches, Sport-Club avoided a completely false start to the season and significantly boosted the mood in Breisgau. "It was a start we hadn't imagined," admitted match-winner Matanović. "But today we showed a great reaction; we were the better team." Stuttgart pulled away surprisingly, and Freiburg "deservedly got it over the line in the end."

Next Saturday (September 20th, 3:30 p.m., live via audio stream on Sportschau.de ), however, SC faces a tricky away game against SV Werder Bremen. Stuttgart, who now have two losses and one win, will kick off Matchday 4 with a home game against St. Pauli next Friday (September 19th, 8:30 p.m., live via audio stream on Sportschau.de ).

Broadcast on Saturday, September 13, 2025, 2:00 PM, Stadium, SWR1

• SWR
• SC Freiburg
• VfB Stuttgart
• football
• Bundesliga