Jovic, Rebic and Haller overwhelm Freiburg

Frankfurt 3-1 Freiburg

Goals: 1-0 Haller (36'), 2-0 Rebic (40'), 3-0 Jovic (45'), 3-1 Petersen (69')

It was a scrappy affair initially at the Commerzbank-Arena as both teams tried to find their feet again after the winter break. Defences were on top for the first half hour or so, but when Haller nodded in the opener from Rebic's flick-on from a corner, Freiburg crumbled. Rebic doubled Frankfurt's advantage with a superb individual goal moments later, turning past defenders on the edge of the box before curling an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

Adi Hütter's men were not done there, however, and all but killed the game off before half-time when Jovic intercepted a poor defensive clearance to go one-on-one with Alexander Schwolow, making no mistake from 12 yards. Rebic almost added a fourth early in the second half, but saw his shot blocked by Schwolow, while Filip Kostic and Jovic also spurned presentable opportunities to add to the scoreline. Freiburg did manage to pull a goal back through Nils Petersen, a deserved reward for an improved display after the interval, but the outcome was never in any doubt and the hosts comfortably saw the result to the final whistle.

• This was the first time ever that Jovic, Rebic and Haller all scored in the same game for Frankfurt.
• Petersen's goal was his 38th for Freiburg (and 21st as a supersub!), making him the club's all-time top scorer in the Bundesliga, overtaking Papiss Cisse.
• Haller has the most assists in the Bundesliga this season with eight. Now with 10 goals also scored, he is statistically the most potent attacking force in the league.
• This was Sebastian Rode's first competitive appearance since August 2017, when he featured as a substitute for Dortmund against Bayern in the Supercup. His last start in a competitive match was in November 2016, in the UEFA Champions League for Dortmund against Legia Warsaw.
• Prior to this game, Freiburg's Christian Günter had not missed a minute of action in the last 56 Bundesliga matches.
• Vincenzo Grifo appeared for Freiburg for the first time in 609 days, having returned to the club from Hoffenheim.

Line-ups

Frankfurt: Trapp – Abraham (c), Hasebe, N’Dicka – Da Costa, Rode (De Guzman 72'), Fernandes, Kostic – Rebic – Haller, Jovic (Willems 68', Stendera 90+2')
Unused subs: Rönnow, Falette, Russ, Pacienca
Out: Torro (pelvis), Allan (knee), Chandler (knee), Gacinovic (thigh)
Coach: Adi Hütter

Freiburg: Schwolow – Kübler (Stenzel 80'), Koch, Gulde, Heintz – Grifo, Haberer, Gondorf, Frantz (c) – Waldschmidt (Höler 46'), Niederlechner (Petersen 46')
Unused subs: Flekken, Lienhart, Terrazzino, Ravet
Out: Borrello (knee), Günter (thigh), Höfler (knee), Kath (groin), Kleindienst (knee), Sallai (adductor)
Coach: Christian Streich

Watch: Haller discusses Frankfurt's front three