This season in the Bundesliga, Freiburg’s form has been decent overall with 11 wins, four draws, and five losses. Freiburg are currently ranked fourth in the Bundesliga table out of 18 teams. Freiburg’s home form is also decent, with seven wins, two draws, and one loss. Their away form is average, as a result of four wins, two draws, and four losses. Freiburg have scored a total of 32 goals this season in the Bundesliga. They faced their heaviest defeat of the season away from home against seventh-place Wolfsburg. They lost six goals to nil in that game and were left exposed.
Overall performance this season
The above viz shows the percentile rank of Freiburg in attacking, defensive, and possession stats compared to other teams in the Bundesliga. We can clearly observe that they are ranked fairly in attacking stats, especially for expected goals and entries in the opponent’s penalty area. They are ranked poorly in terms of passing and possession. Defensively, they are performing very badly in their game in terms of high-pressure success rate and recoveries per 90, which will be the reason behind their downfall.
Freiburg in front of the goal
SC Freiburg are currently in fourth place in the 2022–23 German Bundesliga, with 37 points from 20 matches played. They have won 11 matches, drawn four, and lost five. They have scored 32 goals (31.7 xG) and conceded 31 goals (27.6 xGA). The team has scored most of its goals from the penalty area and inside the six-yard box. They have an average xG of 1.25 this season and an average of 42.3% shot accuracy, taking 11.95 shots per 90 minutes.
They rank ninth when it comes to goals per 90 in the current season and have some of the more serious contenders placed above them in the ratings. They are likely to drop out of their position in the table given that other teams have managed to make more contributions in the attack.
Poor possession, passing and counter-attacking
The above data presents the rank of the team as compared to other teams in the Bundesliga in 2022/23 for passes per 90 minutes and the efficiency of counterattacks. Freiburg makes 446 passes per 90, which is low compared to other teams in the league. This means that they are not possession-based and must rely on counterattacks in order to gain an advantage.
Furthermore, it can be seen that they have the lowest counter-attack efficiency in the league, with only 12% efficiency in the counter-attack. Based on this, it seems difficult for the team to find a good game plan and tactic to progress in matches and grab points. Therefore, it is most likely that the team will not be in its current position for long.
Freiburg in defence
When defending, Freiburg have played wide in the current season. This is done in order to prevent the opposition from wide areas to attack. However, it also prevented the team from counterattacking with pace and fluidity when they won the ball back. The graph above depicts the stats for Freiburg’s defensive territory in the current season. They average 41.1 interceptions per 90 minutes and give up 12.45 fouls on average. They won 58.5% of their defensive duels and 49.4% of the duels contested in the air.
Defensive Woes vs Wolfsburg
The above viz shows the defensive territory of the team for their match against Wolfsburg in Bundesliga 2022/23. Freiburg lost the match six goals to nil, which was a statement win for Wolfsburg, who are also pushing for the top six. The loss for Freiburg exposed their defensive weaknesses in the Bundesliga this season and has left them vulnerable going forward. It can be seen that the team played the match with a much higher backline, which left them exposed at the back. They also gave away a foul inside the box. They made only 27 interceptions in the match as compared to their average of 41.1 interceptions in the season.
Failure to press in big margin losses
In terms of pressure up the pitch, Freiburg have not been in the best form, and the above viz depicts their high regains in their matches against Dortmund and Wolfsburg. It is clear that the team fails to make an impact and allows their opponents to maintain long periods of possession. These two games have seen them concede a total of nine goals, and again the team has been exposed when it comes to their defensive performances on the pitch.
Overall, SC Freiburg are most likely to slip out of the race for the top four because of their lack of consistency. While they have had some good results this season, they have not been able to string together a consistent run of form that would be necessary to stay in the top four. They have won only two of their last five matches. Furthermore, they have the lowest goals scored in the top ten of the Bundesliga and have not managed to keep clean sheets in their last five matches. These statistics point towards an inability to consistently score goals and keep clean sheets, and this lack of consistency is likely to be their downfall when it comes to staying in the race for the top four.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
