Breel Embolo (L) of Monchengladbach vies with Dominique Heintz of Freiburg during a German Bundesliga match between Borussia Monchengladbach and SC Freiburg in Monchengladbach, Germany, Dec. 1, 2019. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
BERLIN, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Monchengladbach eased 4-2 past Freiburg and stay on the first place owing to Breel Embolo's brace at the 13th round of Bundesliga action on Sunday.
Freiburg pulled back twice but the "Foals" remained unimpressed and continued scoring to record the ninth win from 13 games in a six-goal thriller.
Both sides were offensively minded going into the clash so it took only three minutes before the first goal was scored as Marcus Thuram benefitted on a loose ball to poke home the lead.
Freiburg responded well and restored parity only three minutes later when Jonathan Schmid curled a free kick from 16 meters over the wall into the top left corner.
Both sides exchange attacks but as the match progressed Monchengladbach gained the upper hand still they were unable to extend the lead despite promising chances.
After the restart, Monchengladbach picked up where they left off in the first half as Patrick Herrmann's square pass into the box found Embolo, who made no mistake to make it 2-1 on the scoreboards.
Moments later Embolo had the golden chance to seal his brace as he was felled inside the box. However, the Swiss rattled the woodwork from the penalty spot and missed the chance to extend the lead in the 49th minute.
The hosts were nevertheless able to extend the lead only two minutes later as Embolo squared to Herrmann, who tapped home the 3-1 lead from very close range.
A resilient Freiburg showed vital signs at the hour mark after Christian Gunter nodded home Lucas Holer's cross into the box. Holer almost shocked Monchengladbach with the equalizer but Ramy Bensebaini cleared the effort off the goal line.
Monchengladbach broke Freiburg's resistance though in the 71st minute when Embolo forced a turnover to wrap up his brace and all three points on home soil.
With the victory, Borussia Monchengladbach opened up a one-point gap atop the standings meanwhile Freiburg slipped to the 6th position after suffering the third loss of the season.
Elsewhere, Milot Rashica's brace ended Werder Bremen's eight game winless streak after edging Wolfsburg 3-2 on the road.
On Monday, Mainz will encounter Eintracht Frankfurt to conclude the 13th round in the Bundesliga.
