Freiburg's unbeaten start ends at Leverkusen but there is little reason for concern

Freiburg's unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season came to an end at the BayArena on Sunday, but Julian Schuster will have taken plenty of encouragement from his side's performance.

The Breisgau outfit arrived as league leaders after five excellent results, yet facing a Leverkusen side beginning to find form under Carles Martínez was always going to be a different challenge.

Freiburg took an early lead through Derry Scherhant and, even after Ibrahim Maza's equaliser five minutes later, prevented the hosts from establishing much rhythm. Schuster's men looked comfortable in possession and regularly played their way through Leverkusen's attempts to press, with the hosts struggling to create clear openings for much of the second half.

In the end, a moment of quality from Maza made the difference. The 20-year-old worked his way through several Freiburg defenders before finding Patrik Schick, who finished from close range.

No reason to panic

There will be frustration at how Freiburg conceded both goals, particularly having looked so organised for much of the contest, but there is no reason to come away from Sunday with much concern given how many ways they have found to compete early this season.

Sunday was arguably their toughest test of the campaign so far, and they came close to taking something from it. With 13 points from six matches, Die Breisgauer remain just one behind Bayern and Dortmund, and the visit of the champions next weekend presents another opportunity to test themselves.

A title challenge may be asking too much, but if Freiburg can keep playing at their current level, another season competing for European football — perhaps even the Champions League — looks well within reach.