Despite a scoreless opening half, the hosts seized control shortly after the interval. The breakthrough arrived in the 54th minute when pressure from the Freiburg attack forced Union captain Rani Khedira to inadvertently turn the ball into his own net. Yuito Suzuki doubled the advantage in the 67th minute, latching onto a clever chip from winger Derry Scherhant to seal the win. Although Vincenzo Grifo saw his 84th-minute penalty saved by Union goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow, the hosts remained comfortable throughout the closing stages.
Leverkusen Prevail in Tense Rhine Derby
Earlier in the day,
Aleix Garcia opened the scoring for the visitors just seven minutes into the match, curling a precise free-kick over the wall and into the top-left corner. While Leverkusen controlled much of the play—including a header from Jarell Quansah that narrowly missed the target—the hosts struggled to find a rhythm, accumulating five of their six yellow cards during a frustrated second half.
Patrik Schick eventually extended Leverkusen's lead in the 85th minute, finishing a counter-attack for his eighth league goal in nine appearances this season. This strike proved decisive, as Said El Mala’s stoppage-time goal for Cologne arrived too late to spark a comeback. The result leaves Cologne in 15th place, just two points clear of the relegation play-off spot currently occupied by Union Berlin. In the final match of the day, Hoffenheim secured a 2-1 victory away at Schalke, with Fisnik Asllani and Tim Lemperle providing the goals for the visitors.
