BERLIN, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Freiburg returned to winning ways after beating in-form Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 at the opener of the 9th round in Bundesliga on Friday.
The "Foals" winning run came to an end as goals from Nils Petersen, Luca Waldschmidt and Lucas Hoeler secured Freiburg's third win of the season.
Freiburg grabbed a fairy tale start into the clash as Monchengladbach's goalkeeper Yann Sommer felled Luca Waldschmidt inside the box, allowing Nils Petersen to convert the subsequent foul play penalty from the spot with 60 seconds played.
Monchengladbach regrouped and took the reins meanwhile the visitors defended deep and lurked for counter attacks.
The host's efforts got rewarded with 20 minutes into the game as Thorgan Hazard slotted home a penalty to restore parity after Dominique Heintz brought down Lars Stindl inside the box.
Both sides exchanged offensive actions but their efforts from promising positions lacked in accuracy.
After the restart, Monchengladbach assumed control but yet it were the visitors who grabbed the 2-1 lead in the 57th minute when Luca Waldschmidt finished off Janik Haberer's build up work.
Freiburg defended their lead but remained dangerous on fast breaks whereas Monchengladbach were unable to increase the pressure.
Things went from bad to worse as Freiburg were not done with the scoring and added another goal to their lead through substitute Lucas Hoeler, who put the result beyond doubt in the dying minutes of the game.
With the result, Borussia Monchengladbach stay on the 2nd place of the standings while Freiburg jumped on the 8th position for the moment.
"It was an extremely challenging game but we played so passionate today. Tactically and defensively I have to raise my hat to my team," Freiburg's head coach Christian Streich said.
"If you lose a game it is of course a setback. It is important though that we draw the right lessons from the defeat," Monchengladbach's head coach Dieter Hecking said.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: front runners Borussia Dortmund host Hertha Berlin, Hannover see Augsburg, Mainz face Bayern Munich, newly promoted Fortuna Dusseldorf encounter Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim clash with struggling Stuttgart.
