Dortmund appeared to have shaken off their disappointing 2-2 draw with FK Bodø/Glimt in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday as they produced an impressive first-half display.
The Die Schwarzgelben very nearly took the lead with only five minutes on the clock when Yan Couto’s cross into the area from the right found Serhou Guirassy unmarked, but the striker’s header went just wide of the left post.
Guirassy almost turned provider when he combined well with Carney Chukwuemeka inside the area, with the Englishman’s effort from the right side of the six-yard box coming back off the left post to the relief of the home side.
The visitors maintained their pressure and continued to look dangerous going forward, and just after the half-hour mark, they deservedly went ahead.
A free-kick into the area found its way through to Ramy Bensebaini, who controlled the ball well before seeing his close-range effort take a kind deflection to help it past Noah Atubolu at his near post, ensuring a lead at the break for the away side.
Dortmund fans would have hoped for more of the same in the second half, but eight minutes after the restart, the contest was turned on its head.
An underhit pass from Gregor Kobel sold Jobe Bellingham short, forcing the midfielder into action as he brought down Philipp Treu to prevent him from breaking into the area, resulting in a straight red card being shown.
The visitors were coping well after the sending off, yet they were denied all three points by a fantastic finish from Lucas Höler, 15 minutes from time. A ball into the area from Christian Günter found the forward, who brought it under his spell before producing a sensational volley on the turn, which found the top right-hand corner of the net to draw Freiburg level in fine fashion.
The hosts thought they had snatched victory with five minutes of normal time remaining, only for Igor Matanović’s close-range effort to be ruled out for offside.
As a result, Die Breisgau-Brasilianer had to settle for a point, which sees them climb one place to ninth, while the Schwarzgelben stay third, having missed the chance to close the gap to leaders Bayern Munich.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lucas Höler (SC Freiburg)