MOENCHENGLADBACH, Germany (Reuters) – Freiburg scored six times in a devastating first half to obliterate hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 6-0 on Sunday, with the best opening 45 minutes by an away team in Bundesliga history, and climb to fourth place.
Freiburg ran wild in the opening 25 minutes, becoming also the first away team in the Bundesliga to score five times in that period, with Gladbach left shaken to their core.
Maximilian Eggestein got Freiburg off to a perfect start, firing in from eight metres for the lead. Kevin Schade then rose higher than his marker to drill in a header three minutes later before Philipp Lienhart tapped in from close range in the 12th minute.
Gladbach had no way of stopping Freiburg, with Nicolas Hoefler’s glancing header getting a deflection to make it 4-0.
It was 5-0 by the 24th minute when Lucas Hoeler headed in from a metre out after yet another disastrous Gladbach effort to clear a free kick that was floated into the box.
Centre back Nico Schlotterbeck made sure of the record-breaking half dozen with a 37th-minute header before Gladbach players walked into the changing rooms at halftime to a chorus of whistles and jeers from their fans.
The only other team to be 6-0 up at halftime in a Bundesliga game were, ironically, hosts Gladbach in 1978 en route to a 12-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.
Freiburg took most of the pace out of the game after the break but it was still only the visitors who threatened while coach Adi Huetter’s Gladbach had long resigned themselves to their fate.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Clare Fallon)
