BERLIN (AP) — Matthias Ginter and Igor Matanovic scored as Freiburg beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 and moved to seventh in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Ginter struck in the 38th minute when he flung himself at the ball after a long throw in to acrobatically steer it in despite the attention of Gladbach defender Joe Scally. Ginter, who previously spent five seasons at Gladbach, restrained his celebrations.
Matanović had no such reticence after scoring Freiburg’s second goal in the 74th when he had a simple tap in after Moritz Nicolas’ save from Maximilian Eggestein’s cross.
Haris Tabakovic pulled one back late for Gladbach, just a minute after having another goal ruled out for offside.
Freiburg stretched its winning streak at home to five games across all competitions, while Gladbach’s winless run stretched to seven matches.
Big points for St. Pauli
St. Pauli boosted its chances of survival with a 2-1 home win over relegation rival Werder Bremen that lifted the Hamburg-based club above the visitors into the relegation playoff spot.
Japan midfielder Joel Chima Fujita scored what proved to be the winner with a low shot inside the far corner in the 70th, minutes after Jovan Milosevic had drawn the visitors level.
Bremen dropped second-from-last after its third straight defeat under new coach Daniel Thioune that stretched the team's winless run to 13 games.
St. Pauli celebrated its back-to-back wins at home after surprising Stuttgart 2-1 in the 21st round.
Stuttgart hopes to consolidate fourth place for Champions League qualification with a win at last-place Heidenheim later Sunday.
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