The two sides came into this clash in contrasting form - while Wolfsburg’s late-season charge, thanks to three wins from their previous four encounters, had moved them into pole position for sixth spot, back-to-back defeats to fellow top-four contenders Union and RB Leipzig had severely dented Freiburg’s hopes of securing a maiden UEFA Champions League place.
As such, it was perhaps somewhat of a surprise to see the hosts have the better first-half opportunities, with Maximilian Eggestein and Philipp Lienhart firing efforts narrowly wide of the post, while Vincenzo Grifo and Lucas Holer forced Koen Casteels into admittedly routine saves.
However, they never truly threatened and, initially after the interval, gilt-edged chances were at even more of a premium.
Even when Casteels was forced into an important stop from Roland Sallai’s acrobatic volley, half of the ground probably won’t have seen it due to the heavy smog left by the Wolfsburg’s supporters’ pyrotechnics.
Initially, gilt-edged chances were at even more of a premium as both teams looked leggy at the end of what has been a long campaign.
Even when Casteels was forced into an important stop from Roland Sallai’s acrobatic volley, half of the ground probably won’t have seen it due to the heavy smog left by the Wolfsburg’s supporters’ supply of pyrotechnics.
Freiburg boss Christian Streich introduced club legends Christian Gunter and Petersen to the fray, and those changes decided the match’s outcome.
The former was named on the bench for the first time in the league in six years, and made an impact within 41 seconds when his low drive deflected off Micky van de Ven and beyond the wrong-footed Casteels, but the latter was undoubtedly the star of the show.
No player in Freiburg’s history has found the back of the net in the German top flight as Petersen, and he netted his 69th Bundesliga goal with a quarter of an hour remaining, slotting Sallai’s cross into an empty net.
The 34-year-old should have ended the encounter with a brace, but his pinpoint header was ruled out for a foul in the build-up.
The strike was a massive contribution as Freiburg secured the win to move level on points with fourth-place Union, albeit having played a game more and, while Nicolas Hofler’s red card for a late challenge on Luca Waldschmidt threatened to dampen the atmosphere, that and the result felt like nothing more than a footnote, as the supporters regaled their hero for the final time on home soil long after the final whistle.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nils Petersen (Freiburg)
