Freiburg fight back to hold Hertha

Hertha Berlin 2-2 Freiburg
Goals: 0-1 Kyereh 22' (assist: Doan), 1-1 Lukebakio (pen.) 34', 2-1 Serdar (61'), 2-2  Schade 78' (assist: Keitel)

Freiburg were returning to the scene of their 2022 DFB Cup final loss against Leipzig looking to take the outright lead at the top of the Bundesliga standings. A club record start to the campaign meant Christian Streich's men could rack up a sixth top-flight win here. Indeed, when Die Breisgauer hit the front after 22 minutes, the omens looked good for the visiting side. Controlling a flighted ball into the Hertha box on his chest, Ritsu Doan then turned one way and twisted the other to create the space for the perfect lay-off to Daniel-Kofi Kyereh to finish. It was the 26-year-old's third goal in as many games. The Old Lady were unbeaten in their previous four matches and showed plenty of determination to get back on terms. Stevan Jovetic began the move that would eventually lead to the Montenegrin forward clipping Christian Günter's outstretched arm inside the Freiburg box. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, from where Dodi Lukebakio scored his fourth goal of the season.

Despite their recent run of positive results, Hertha were just one point above the relegation zone when Matchday 8 kicked off. Buoyed on by a vociferous home crowd inside the Olympiastadion, Sandro Schwarz's men appeared determined to improve their situation in the standings after the restart. Suat Serdar provided the spark that promised the possibility of picking up all three points when the midfielder bounded forward before unleashing a shot from distance that bent away past Mark Flekken's despairing dive and into the corner. That was the 500th goal Freiburg conceded under coach Streich - who was watching in isolation from home - but the away side stuck to the task despite the setback. With 12 minutes left to play, Günter's dropping free-kick into the Hertha box was fumbled by Christensen, allowing Yannik Keitel to cut back for fellow substitute Schade who scored for 2-2.

• Serdar has scored as many goals this season (three) as he did in the entire 2021/22 campaign.
• Hertha drew level for the third home match in a row. The hosts previously equalised after falling behind against Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim.
• Lukebakio has twice as many goals (four) this season as the whole of last.
• Doan provided his first assist of this Bundesliga season.
• The Old Lady have won just three of 18 Bundesliga games against Streich's Freiburg, losing eight and drawing seven.
• Matthias Ginter made his 300th Bundesliga appearance, over 10 years after making a scoring debut against Augsburg.

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Watch: Lukebakio: "Hope we learn from our mistakes"

Hertha: Christensen - Kenny, Rogel, Kempf, Plattenhardt (c) - Tousart, Sunjic, Serdar (Boateng 84') - Lukebakio, Jovetic (Selke 78'), Ejuke (Richter 58')
Unused subs: Ernst, Dardai, Pekarik, Mittelstädt, Darida, Kanga
Out: Boetius (testicular cancer), Jarstein (not considered), Ngankam (fitness), Nsona (cruciate ligament), Uremovic (ankle)
Coach: Sandro Schwarz

Freiburg: Flekken - Sildillia, Ginter, Lienhart, Günter (c) - Eggestein (Keitel 76'), Höfler - Doan (Höler 86'), Kyereh (Jeong 76'), Grifo (Schade 70') - Gregoritsch (Petersen 70')
Unused subs: Uphoff, Kübler, Schlotterbeck, Weißhaupt
Out: Ezekwem (muscular), Sallai (eye socket)
Coach: Christian Streich

Watch: Kyereh praises Doan for setting him up