Freiburg came into this encounter having won each of their past six UEL games on home soil, while Utrecht had failed to prevail in any of their previous 13 European main-draw matches - only one off PSV’s unwanted record for a Dutch side.
As such, the hosts were the favourites to triumph, and so the first half played out. Philipp Treu hammered over the bar early on before Maximilian Eggestein became the maiden Freiburg player to trouble Vasilis Barkas, although it was a relatively comfortable save for the shot-stopper.
There was nothing the Greece international could do to stop the Breisgau Brasilianer from breaking the deadlock midway through the half, though, when Yuito Suzuki opened his account for the club by firing into the corner from close range following Christian Günter’s cut-back.
After taking the lead, Julian Schuster’s men were in no mood to take their foot off the gas, with Suzuki forcing Barkas into action with a half-volley, before Johan Manzambi hit the crossbar and post with the same shot.
As half-time beckoned, Freiburg finally netted their second goal through Vincenzo Grifo. The Italian is one of only five players to score at least 10 free-kicks in the Bundesliga since data collection began in 2004/05, and he further displayed his dead-ball prowess by curling into the bottom corner from 25 yards despite Barkas’ best efforts.
That left Utrecht with a mountain to climb after the restart, and while they were slightly more adventurous - not difficult considering they managed one shot before the interval - they remained toothless. Freiburg, meanwhile, were denied a third by Barkas, who pushed Eggestein’s shot to safety.
Ultimately, Freiburg picked up all three points without really exerting themselves in the final 30 minutes, having already done all the hard work beforehand. They now have seven points in this league phase and are well on their way to reaching the knockout stages.
Utrecht, meanwhile, are not only still without a point in this year’s competition, but have also not scored a single goal and have now won just one of their last eight in all tournaments. With high-flying AZ next up in the Eredivisie at the weekend, you would not expect their fortunes to improve in the near future.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Vincenzo Grifo (Freiburg)