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When the dream of reaching the historic quarter-finals was shattered and the biggest defeat in the European Cup was sealed, Christian Streich dragged himself across the field with a grim expression on his face. The SC Freiburg coach seemed completely satisfied after the 0:5 (0:2) debacle in the second leg of the round of 16 at the merciless Premier League club West Ham United. The Europa League high ended with a painful crash landing for the Breisgau team.
“We didn’t have a chance. It felt like West Ham showed us what efficiency means,” said defender Matthias Ginter on RTL+. Captain Christian Günter added that the team had to learn from it. Nevertheless, the trip to Europe was “another amazing experience”.
A week after the 1-0 first leg win, the seemingly inhibited sports club disappointed and paid a lot of lessons on a bitter evening in London. The wait for the first international quarter-final in the club’s history continues.
Freiburg fell behind early on thanks to goals from Lucas Paqueta (9th) and Jarrod Bowen (32nd), Aaron Cresswell (52nd) and brace Mohammed Kudus (77th and 85th) increased the score after the break. It remains to be seen whether it was Streich’s last European game as SC coach. The Breisgauers’ dream had already been shattered in the round of 16 against Juventus Turin last year.
SC Freiburg is eliminated from the Europa League by West Ham United
“We know that we can achieve something big,” emphasized driver Maximilian Eggestein. Streich, whose future could be decided next week from summer onwards, sent the same starting eleven onto the field that started in the first duel. This meant that noble joker Michael Gregoritsch was once again on the bench despite his late winning goal.
However, in the atmospheric Olympic Stadium in 2012, the sports club got off to a nightmare start. After a corner, Paqueta was right at the second post and caused the first setback. The advantage from the first leg was lost early on. The SC, who met West Ham for the fourth time this season, had little to think of apart from a finish from Roland Sallai (10th).
Instead, Kudus (18th) initially missed the second goal from the ripped-off hosts, before Bowen increased the score with a dry finish from the second row. Streich stood on the sidelines, somewhat perplexed.
The approximately 2,300 SC supporters who traveled along were probably hoping for another dramatic comeback during the break like in the second round second leg against RC Lens. Gregoritsch came on in the second half, but again the English came first with Cresswell, who scored the next goal from the edge of the penalty area. Freiburg’s efforts in the final phase were ineffective. Kudus punished Streich’s team again.
Related
https://www.breakinglatest.news/world/freiburg-pays-the-tuition-fee-in-london/
