Freiburg reach first European final after seeing off 10-man Braga
Freiburg booked their place in the first European final in the club’s history by defeating Braga in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday night.
Holding a 2-1 advantage from the opening meeting, the German side were handed a major boost when Braga were reduced to 10 players after Mario Dorgeles, who had scored the dramatic late winner in Portugal, was sent off for hauling down Jan-Niklas Beste.
That dismissal shifted momentum firmly towards the hosts, who quickly took control as Braga were left trying to cope with both the aggregate deficit and their numerical disadvantage.
Freiburg make pressure count
The breakthrough arrived in fortunate fashion when Jean-Baptiste Gorby’s attempted clearance ricocheted off Lukas Kubler’s knee and rolled into the net off the inside of the post.
While the opener owed something to good fortune, Freiburg’s second was pure quality. Johan Manzambi, the 20-year-old midfielder, created room for himself on the edge of the area before bending a superb right-footed strike beyond reach and into the far corner.
His brilliant effort, scored four minutes before the break, ignited wild celebrations inside the Europa-Park Stadion and put Freiburg firmly in command of the contest.
Braga threaten but fall short
Despite being a player down, Braga still produced moments of danger before half-time, with Victor Gomez striking the woodwork after rounding Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu.
At the other end, Vincenzo Grifo was denied by the post shortly after the restart, while Braga goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek kept his side alive with an outstanding double save from Igor Matanovic and Matthias Ginter.
However, Hornicek could do nothing to stop Kubler from adding Freiburg’s third goal, the defender rising high to score with a powerful header and seemingly end Braga’s resistance.
Final awaits in Istanbul
Pau Victor briefly offered the Portuguese side a lifeline with a close-range header seven minutes later, but Carlos Vicens’ team could not mount a comeback.
Julian Schuster’s men now move on to Istanbul, where they will meet Aston Villa in the final on Wednesday, 20 May, after Unai Emery’s side swept aside Nottingham Forest 4-0 in their own semi-final second leg.
The victory also marked Freiburg’s 11th consecutive home success in the Europa League, matching Sevilla’s competition record established between April 2014 and March 2016.
