Leverkusen end Freiburg’s unbeaten run

Leverkusen extended their winning streak to four matches in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 victory over SC Freiburg.

The visitors had a strong start as Mark Flekken had to be alert inside the first five minutes with chances for Derry Scherhant and Junior Adamu. It took ten minutes for the hosts to control the proceedings.

Both teams have set-piece specialists on their lockers, but Vincenzo Grifo, who scored from direct free-kicks in back-to-back games, started this one on the bench. Meanwhile, Alejandro Grimaldo tested Noah Atubolu in the 17th minute.

Five minutes before the half-time break, Scherhant attempted a decent free-kick that narrowly missed the target. However, the hosts had already found the opening goal by then. Edmond Tapsoba started the move from his own half before Ernest Poku and Aleix García confused Freiburg’s defense with a well-worked one-two.

Poku then provided the finish from outside the box for his third Bundesliga goal of the season. The hosts continued on their solid display after the restart, and Tapsoba doubled their lead from a short corner-kick taken by the two Spaniards – Grimaldo and García.

Freiburg showed very little attacking intent in the second-half, and Philipp Lienhart’s sending off for two bookable offenses added to their misery. Bayer Leverkusen now won four games on the trot, which puts them in fourth place before Stuttgart’s home game against Mainz. Julian Schuster’s team lost for the first time since matchday two.

Kasper Hjulmand’s side will face SC Paderborn in the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday before a trip to Allianz Arena in the Bundesliga. Freiburg will also play away at the invincible Bayern in November, but their next two games will be against Fortuna Düsseldorf and Union Berlin.