Ole Werner hails defensive solidity as key to Leipzig’s win over Freiburg

RED BULL ARENA, LEIPZIG (Bulinews): RB Leipzig coach Ole Werner praised his team's defensive solidity after Wednesday's 2-0 Bundesliga win over Freiburg at Red Bull Arena.

Much to Werner's delight, Leipzig limited Freiburg to just three shots in total, with only one on target.

“The foundation for the victory was that we defended very well. Looking at the stats, we allowed almost nothing and were extremely solid defensively on set pieces,” Werner told Bulinews.com and the rest of the accredited media at his post-match press conference.

The Leipzig boss was also pleased to see his team score twice from set pieces.

“Scoring from set pieces is great because it’s important to be able to create dangerous situations even when the opponent sits deep,” he added.

Freiburg coach Julian Schuster was pleased with his team’s defensive display in the first half but disappointed with their attacking output and how the game unfolded after the break, when Leipzig scored both goals.

“We had good ball recoveries where the opportunity was definitely there to become more dangerous, but we didn’t take advantage of them. When the spaces were available, we didn’t use them well enough. We simply didn’t offer enough attacking threat,” said Schuster.

"On the positive side, we allowed very few chances, especially in the first half. Naturally, it’s a shame that we conceded through two set-piece goals. When the opponent can bring on players like (Yan) Diomande and (Antonio) Nusa, it doesn’t make the situation any easier," he added.