Freiburg saw off Crystal Palace 3:0 in a club friendly at the Schwarzwaldstadion on Friday. The hosts took the lead through Y. Engelhardt in the fifty-sixth minute before L. Holer added a second just ten minutes later. A third goal from D. Scherhant in the one-hundred-and-fourth minute sealed the result.
And here's the thing about Engelhardt's opener — it came after Freiburg had been sitting deep and soaking it up for the first half. The visitors controlled the ball but the hosts were patient. When Palace picked one up last week against Fulham, they showed energy; this time there was no fire. Engelhardt finished calmly after a quick break, and Freiburg took the lead.
To be fair, Palace responded with urgency after going behind. They threw bodies forward and won eight corners to Freiburg's four. But the shots tell a different story. Crystal Palace managed only three shots on target all afternoon, while Freiburg tested their keeper thirteen times. By then the home side had already switched to a back three and were running out of games to prove themselves.
The third goal arrived in extra time, a moment that felt inevitable rather than surprising. D. Scherhant picked up the ball and found the net before the visitors could reset. Freiburg made eleven substitutions across the match, rotating heavily.
The statistics show the imbalance clearly. Freiburg converted their chances while Palace were running out of ideas. Possession sat at thirty-nine percent for the hosts and sixty-one for the visitors, but the shots on target — thirteen to three — told the real tale. Freiburg also won more free kicks and had fewer offsides, suggesting cleaner attacking movement.
This result gives Freiburg another win from their recent run. For Crystal Palace, it extends a difficult period — they have lost three of their last five matches and drawn one.