Bayer 04 Leverkusen beat SC Freiburg with Schick’s 76th-minute winner

Scherhant strikes after an early interruption

Play was interrupted in the third minute by tennis balls on the pitch and resumed in the eighth minute. Freiburg then opened the scoring in the 14th minute, when an attack involving Philipp Treu and Niklas Beste reached Derry Scherhant, who finished unmarked at the far post.

Maza equalizes before a level halftime

Leverkusen answered five minutes later. Diaby found Schick, whose backheel released Ibrahim Maza for an outside-foot finish in the 19th minute. Schick supplied the link between Diaby’s pass and Maza’s equalizer, bringing the hosts level after Freiburg’s early breakthrough.

Treu recovered to stop Moreira after a long pass in the 22nd minute. Schick later headed over from a corner in the 38th, and the teams went into halftime tied at 1–1.

Schick converts Maza’s work near the corner flag

After the interval, Medina, Moreira and Schick had attempts before Leverkusen took the lead. In the 59th minute, Diaby supplied Schick, who struck over the crossbar from close range.

Nathan Tella replaced Afonso Moreira in the 59th minute, and Malik Tillman came on for Moussa Diaby in the 73rd.

The decisive move arrived in the 76th minute. Maza beat several Freiburg defenders near the corner flag, then squared for Schick to score. Having combined for the equalizer, the pair combined again to put Leverkusen ahead for the first time.

Schick became the first Leverkusen player to score in each of the opening six Bundesliga matchdays of a season.

Höler heads wide in stoppage time

Tella threatened in the 83rd minute and Maza in the 84th as Leverkusen sought another goal. Freiburg substitute Lucas Höler headed narrowly wide in the third minute of stoppage time, leaving the hosts’ one-goal advantage intact at the finish.