1. Off the ball during set pieces

"First of all, let's talk set pieces. We weren't really at the races in that regard today. Overall, we didn't play too badly at all. We were caught napping a bit with the set pieces, and that's why the scoreline looks like it does today," noted Assan. Ole Werner was of the same opinion as the young midfielder: "Today, e weren't as solid as we have been all season in that department."

Up until Freiburg bagged two goals in quick succession from set pieces in the 24th and 26th minutes, the roughly 2,000 RBL travelling fans saw an evenly contested game. After 21 minutes, both sides had had two shots apiece. In the second minute, Yan Diomande had the chance to get the Red Bulls off to the perfect start, but his close-range effort was too central and easily gathered by SCF keeper Noah Atubolu.

Even after Assan responded in immediate fashion, coolly slotting the ball into the bottom right corner after a mazy solo run from Yan, "we were still very much in the game," as Willi Orbán put it. "At half time, we had high hopes, and then we conceded for the third time from a set piece. It was one sucker punch too many today," added Willi.

Ultimately, it was RBL's first loss to SC Freiburg in a competitive fixture since 2019. RB Leipzig ended the season on 65 points, good enough for a third-placed finish. In both 2020/21 and 2023/24, the Red Bulls had the same points tally in the Bundesliga. Next season, our sights will be once again on breaking the record of 67 points from our debut season in the Bundesliga.