Freiburg needs a win against West Ham United on Thursday for a direct ticket to the Round of 16. Overall, the German Europa League record against English teams is negative. However, there has been a shining example recently.
Ten times a Bundesliga team has visited an English club in the Europa League, with three wins and six losses.
There was also the 1-1 draw between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Chelsea in the semi-finals of the 2018/19 season. Ultimately, the Hessen side lost that match in a dramatic penalty shootout, 3-4.
However, Eintracht Frankfurt is largely responsible for the positive record and is solely responsible for the recent streak of two wins for Bundesliga teams visiting England in the Europa League. The first success was achieved by Dortmund in 2016 in the Round of 16 second-leg match against Tottenham (2-1).
In the group stage of the 2019/20 season, Eintracht Frankfurt won 2-1 against FC Arsenal on Matchday 5. However, even more important was their victory in 2022 on the path to their glorious title win in Sevilla against the Glasgow Rangers. In the first leg of the semifinals, Eintracht laid the foundation for reaching the final with a 2-1 victory against West Ham United.
"So, Eintracht is a shining example of how to win in this competition in England," says Streich. "Eintracht had a strong offensive lineup for a while," he adds, "but so do we. Are we going to learn from them? We're not making videos of Frankfurt. The guys are already brave, not afraid, and they want to show that they can play football.
The focus on the qualities of his own team is justified. For example, Freiburg is the only team alongside Alkmaar and Manchester United to have won two consecutive Europa League games with a minimum five-goal difference.
After the 5-0 victory over Serbian runner-up Backa Topola, there was the even more surprising 5-0 win against Greek record champion Olympiakos Piraeus. United achieved this special double in 2019/20 against Club Brugge and LASK (both 5-0), while Alkmaar also did it in 2019/20 in two games against FC Astana (6-0 at home and 5-0 away).
Additionally, SC Freiburg could tie their own record from the previous season: four consecutive wins in the Europa League. Back then, they achieved victories against Qarabag Agdam, Piraeus, and twice against FC Nantes. This time, the two wins against Backa Topola and Piraeus at London's Olympic Stadium could earn them a direct ticket to the round of 16, which would save them from having to play two challenging playoff matches in February.
