Bundesliga: Freiburg Thrash Leipzig 4-1 to Secure European Football

Leipzig fall to Freiburg as Freiburg book European spot

Freiburg guaranteed at least a Conference League spot and will now focus on the Europa League final in Istanbul.

Julian Schuster’s side ended the campaign strongly with a dominant home win at Europa-Park Stadion...

Freiburg secured European football for next season with a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig on the final Bundesliga matchday. The result at Europa-Park Stadion guarantees Julian Schuster’s side at least a place in the UEFA Conference League ahead of their Europa League final against Aston Villa.

Leipzig nearly made a perfect start when Yan Diomande burst clear after three minutes. The Ivorian found himself through on goal but fired his close-range effort straight at Noah Atubolu.

Freiburg grew into the game and took the lead just after the halfway point of the first half. Jan-Niklas Beste reacted quickest to slot home after Matthias Ginter’s header came back off the bar.

Leipzig’s situation went from bad to worse when Igor Matanovic headed in Johan Manzambi’s cross from the right. That made it 2-0 for Freiburg just two minutes after the first goal.

Ole Werner’s side didn’t let their heads drop and pulled one back in the 33rd minute. Assan Ouédraogo struck from 20 yards and drilled the ball into the bottom corner for his fourth league goal of the season.

Freiburg came out firing after half-time and restored their two-goal lead within two minutes. Matthias Ginter finished calmly from close range after some poor defending from Leipzig.

That goal seemed to take the fight out of Leipzig, and the pace of the game dropped off for both teams.

Freiburg still managed to finish strongly. With 15 minutes left, Igor Matanović set up Derry Scherhant, who rifled the ball past Péter Gulacsi from inside the box to seal a 4-1 win and end Freiburg’s Bundesliga campaign on a high.

Not our day.

⏱️ FT | 4-1 | #SCFRBL pic.twitter.com/KxBqKUQxqM

— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) May 16, 2026

Freiburg will now turn their focus to Wednesday night in Istanbul for what is likely the biggest game in the club’s history against Aston Villa.

Leipzig end the league campaign in third place and will play in next season’s UEFA Champions League.