Lukas Kuebler scored twice as Freiburg defeated Braga 3-1 at home on Thursday, overturning a first-leg deficit to secure a 4-3 aggregate victory and book their place in the Europa League final, where they will face Aston Villa.
Trailing by a single goal from the opening leg, Freiburg received an early advantage when Braga’s Mario Dorgeles was shown a straight red card after just seven minutes.
Kuebler opened the scoring before Johan Manzambi produced a stunning strike to put the hosts 2-0 up at half-time, giving Freiburg a one-goal lead in the tie. Kuebler then added his second of the night after the break. Although Pau Victor pulled one back for Braga late on, Freiburg held firm to reach their first European final.
Speaking after the match, goalscorer Kuebler described the result as a “dream come true” and paid tribute to the home supporters.
“The atmosphere was unbelievable throughout — the fans carried us,” he said.
Freiburg have never won a major trophy nor qualified for the Champions League, but could achieve both by defeating Aston Villa in the final in Istanbul.
Defender Matthias Ginter, a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, described Thursday’s contest as “the most important home match in the club’s history”, and urged his teammates to go one better in the final.
“And now we’ve got the biggest match in the club’s history — and we’re going to give it a real go,” he said.
The defeat ended Braga’s hopes of returning to the Europa League final for the first time since 2011, when they lost 1-0 to domestic rivals Porto.
The first leg had been locked at 1-1 for much of the contest before a late goal from Dorgeles handed Braga the advantage. Braga coach Carlos Vicens rewarded the Ivorian with a place in the starting XI – the only change to his line-up. However, just seven minutes into the return fixture, Dorgeles became the villain.
As Freiburg’s lightning-fast Jan-Niklas Beste launched an attack, Dorgeles brought him down and was dismissed for a last-man foul.
The hosts took the lead after 19 minutes when Vitor Carvalho’s attempted clearance struck the onrushing Kuebler and trickled past the far post. While Freiburg’s first goal carried an element of fortune, their second – which gave them the lead in the tie – was a moment of pure quality. Manzambi drove through the midfield before unleashing a curling strike beyond the diving Lukas Hornicek.
Only remarkable goalkeeping from Hornicek and the woodwork prevented Freiburg from adding a third before the interval. The visiting keeper produced a spectacular double save on 68 minutes to keep his side in contention.
The pressure eventually told when Kuebler headed home a Vincenzo Grifo free-kick to give Freiburg a two-goal cushion. With 11 minutes remaining, Victor headed in a cross to reduce the deficit, and Braga had two late chances to equalise, but were denied by acrobatic saves from Noah Atubolu.
At the final whistle, Freiburg’s ultras stormed the pitch to celebrate reaching only the second major final in the club’s history, following the German Cup final in 2022.
