Freiburg go top of the Bundesliga after thrashing 10-man Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-0

SC Freiburg's start to the season keeps getting better. A 5-0 demolition of Borussia Mönchengladbach at the Europa-Park Stadion was their biggest scoreline yet, built on two goals apiece from Yannik Engelhardt and Igor Matanović against a Gladbach side that was down to ten men before the hour was out.

Engelhardt opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, finishing off a Lukas Scherhant assist, and Matanović doubled the lead six minutes later with a goal set up by Julian Ginter. Gladbach's afternoon got materially worse in the 52nd minute when Tim Kleindienst was sent off, leaving the visitors to play out the remaining 38 minutes a man light against a Freiburg side that had already scored twice.

A one-sided second half

With the extra man advantage, Freiburg pulled away in the second half. Matanović completed his brace in the 77th minute, assisted by Alexis Makengo, and Engelhardt did the same two minutes later off another Ginter assist. Marvin Eggestein rounded off the scoring in the 86th minute to make it 5-0, Freiburg's heaviest win of a season that had already started with a 4-1 defeat of Werder Bremen on the opening weekend.

Match facts

• 23' — Yannik Engelhardt (SC Freiburg), assisted by Lukas Scherhant
• 29' — Igor Matanović (SC Freiburg), assisted by Julian Ginter
• 52' — Tim Kleindienst (Borussia Mönchengladbach) sent off
• 77' — Igor Matanović (SC Freiburg), assisted by Alexis Makengo
• 79' — Yannik Engelhardt (SC Freiburg), assisted by Julian Ginter
• 86' — Marvin Eggestein (SC Freiburg)

Two seasons heading in opposite directions

Freiburg had gone into the weekend second in the Bundesliga on six points, unbeaten through two games and level with the sides directly above and below them at the top of a congested early table. Five more goals without conceding — and a second win with a clean sheet — is exactly the kind of result that keeps a team in that group rather than just clinging to it, and it comes off the back of a first matchday win that was already built on the same formula: goals scored freely, none conceded.

For Gladbach, the picture is much bleaker. This was their second straight defeat without scoring, following a 0-3 loss at RB Leipzig on the opening weekend, leaving them without a goal in either of their first two competitive Bundesliga fixtures before conceding five more here. A red card before the hour mark only made an already difficult afternoon worse, and Gladbach now head into the international break needing to find both a first goal of the campaign and a way to stop what has so far been a leaky defence.