Freiburg up to fifth after huge three points | OneFootball

After getting back to winning ways last time out against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Freiburg were looking to continue bolstering their chances of European football.

And after a slow start, with Hoffenheim having the better of the opening period, it was the hosts who took the lead in the 28th minute after some excellent play and link up down the right hand side between Ritsu Doan and academy graduate Johan Manzambi, with the youngster setting up Lucas Höler to roll the ball into the bottom corner of Oliver Baumann's goal.

With the hosts carrying the momentum, Doan went on to double Freiburg's lead just eight minutes later, letting fly from the edge of the box before the ball nestled into the bottom right corner via a deflection.

With Freiburg looking comfortable heading into the break, additional time proved to be a period of madness, as Marius Bülters' volley deflected past a helpless Florian Müller in the Freiburg goal.

And it would not take long for the visitors to draw level, as Andrej Kramaric volleyed home inside the box, sending the travelling contingent from Sinsheim into raptures just seconds before half time.

With Freiburg left back at square one, Julian Schuster's men required a strong reaction over the half-time break.

Getting back into their stride, the hosts found the lead once again in the 56th minute via Höler once again. After being found by Doan, Vincenzo Grifo did fantastically to slide the ball across to the centre forward, who simply couldn't miss from six yards out.

Despite retaking the lead, it was visitors Hoffenheim who were in the ascendancy regarding possession as Schuster looked to his bench, sending Merlin Röhl and Jan-Niklas Beste on in place of Grifo and Manzambi.

Pushing and prodding, Hoffenheim were struggling to create any real chances worth noting, however, the pressure was certainly placed on Freiburg, who were desperate to avoid throwing away another lead this afternoon.

With four minutes of additional time to play, the hosts were left to hang on, and hang on they did, securing a 3-2 win that sees Schuster's side sit fifth in the Bundesliga on 48 points, ahead of four crucial final matches.