Bundesliga
Freiburg edge Basel
Freiburg survived a late scare against Basel to get their 2025/26 UEFA Europa League campaign off to a winning start at the Europa-Park Stadion.
Freiburg 2-1 Basel
Goals: 1-0 Osterhage 31', 2-0 Eggestein 56' (assist: Grifo), 2-1 Otele 84' (assist: Leroy)
Freiburg shaded a first half of few chances, thanks to Patrick Osterhage's thunderous finish with little over 30 minutes gone.
Maximilian Eggestein headed in Vincenzo Grifo's cross shortly after the restart to put Julian Schuster's team on course for victory.
Philip Otele did manage to halve the deficit with six minutes of normal time remaining, but Freiburg held on for all three points.
Die Breisgauer visit Italian outfit Bologna in their second league phase fixture on 2 October.
>>> See Freiburg's Europa League fixtures here
Recap the match action against Basel below...
2 - 1(1 - 0)
Freiburg
FINAL
Basel
90' +3
vs
Ajeti
90'
vs
Eren Dinkçi
Johan Manzambi
89'
Time added on
There will be five additional minutes here.
88'
'Tactical' foul
Philipp Treu takes one for the team by preventing a Basel counter-attack.
88'
vs
Philipp Treu
84'
Basel in reach
Basel's Nigerian forward Philip Otele has put the visitors right back into this game in the closing stages with a cracker of a curling finish to the corner following a one-two. Freiburg have work to do still.
83'
vs
Rüegg
Adjetey
80'
Busy Salvi
Basel keeper Mirko Salvi saves his side by denying Eggestein's shot to the corner that had 3-0 written all over it.
79'
Treu again
The Freiburg sub is a busy figure at the moment and, after collecting a pass from Eggestein, shoots wide from distance.
76'
Treu hopeful
Treu races to the byline and cuts back into the six yar box, but there's nobody there for Freiburg.
75'
vs
Derry Scherhant
Vincenzo Grifo
75'
vs
Igor Matanović
Junior Adamu
74'
Basel go close
Visiting sub Broschinski is a whisker away from connecting with Shaqiri's dangerous centre from the left. Freiburg survive.
71'
vs
Broschinski
Ajeti
71'
vs
Philipp Treu
Niklas Beste
71'
vs
Christian Günter
Jordy Makengo
70'
Grifo in the book
Grifo is booked after landing on Jeremy Agbonifo's foot.
69'
vs
Vincenzo Grifo
65'
Basel goal shy
Basel have raised their game since going 2-0 behind but to the frustration of the away fans, they have created little despite having plenty of possession.
61'
Atubolu on guard
Jonas Adjetey spanks a shot at the target from distance but Atubolu manages to deal with that relatively easily.
57'
Visiting changes
Ludovic Magnin opts for a triple swap as he attempts to engineer a way back into this Europa League game, which now looks to be slipping away from Basel.
57'
vs
Otele
Salah
57'
vs
Agbonifo
Zé
57'
vs
Vouillez
Tsunemoto
57'
Freiburg double up!
It's 2-0 to the hosts after Vincenzo Grifo's arcing centre is met by Maximilian Eggestein's powerful header that beats Mirko Salvi.
53'
Basel searching
Zé sends in a cross from the right for Ajeti, who leaps and heads the ball wide of the upright.
50'
Grifo chance
Ginter is back on and the home side are quickly on the attack. Beste feeds Manzambi, who in turn picks out Grifo. The latter's shot could be better placed and is relatively easy for Salvi to save.
47'
Ginter treatment
Freiburg's Matthias Ginter kicks the ball out of play and will have to go off for treatment for what looks like an eye injury. The hosts are momentarily down to 10.
46'
Away we go again
The second half is go at the Europa-Park Stadion.
44'
Basel go close
The visitors mount a fine attack that ends with Arlet Junior Zé bringing a parried save from Atubolu. Shaqiri's follow up is blocked by Osterhage.
41'
Tsunemoto sees yellow
Basel's Keigo Tsunemoto is booked for a heavy challenge on Manzambi.
41'
vs
Tsunemoto
37'
Hosts attack once more
Beste delivers an accurate cross from the right to Manzambi, who leaps and heads at the target. Mirko Salvi saves with not too much fuss.
31'
Freiburg lead!
After some good work from Johan Manzambi, the ball breaks for Patrick Osterhage, who drives a tidy finish into the corner to put the hosts in front!
26'
Adjetey okay
Jonas Adjetey is back on his feet after receiving some attention following a knock. The action can continue ...
20'
Grifo menace
Freiburg get motoring once more with Beste finding Grifo on the left. The latter's subsequent shot is quickly charged down and Basel can regroup.
17'
Few chances
There hasn't been a lot for fans of either side to get overly excited about in the recent exchanges, with chances now at a premium as both teams size each other up.
10'
Confidence growing
Following a tough opening to this game, the hosts are finally starting to knock the ball around with much more confidence as they seek an opening in the Basel defence.
7'
Home relief
A little let-up for Freiburg here, with a rare attack leading to Johan Manzambi having a shot blocked. The home fans raise the noise again in the hope of lifting their heroes.
6'
All Basel
The Swiss champions continue to set the pace here and Ibrahim Salah is the latest visiting player to have an attempt that misses the target.
4'
Off target
Léo Leroy has a pop at goal from distance, but his effort fizzes over the bar.
3'
Atubolu alert
... that said, it's Basel who create the game's first big moment, with Atubolu making an important stop from Albian Ajeti's header. That was a close call for the hosts.
3'
Super atmosphere
The Freiburg fans are really up for this European night and they will likely have a big part to play in any home success in this game.
1'
Peeeep!
The ball is rolling in Freiburg ...
Ready to go ....
We've had the on-field formalities and all that's left is to get this UEFA Europa League group phase encounter started!
Teams in tunnel !
Both sides are about to make their way out onto the pitch at the Europa Park Stadion! We're edging closer to kick-off.
Coaching turnaround
Voted Germany's Coach of the Year for last season by Kicker magazine and the German Sports Journalists Association (VDS), Julian Schuster has once again demonstrated his man-management skills by helping Freiburg respond to a very tricky start to the current campaign with back-to-back wins sending the Black Forest team into tonight's Europa League opener in confident mood.