Goto's late header sends 10-man Freiburg top of Bundesliga

Freiburg moved to the top of the Bundesliga after substitute Keisuke Goto headed an 85th-minute winner in a 2-1 home victory over Schalke on Sunday. The hosts finished with 10 men following Yuito Suzuki's dismissal, but secured all three points at Europa-Park Stadion, according to the league's official match report.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP_LhxRVYYA

The decisive move came just two minutes after Freiburg introduced Goto and Vincenzo Grifo from the bench. Grifo delivered from the left and Goto headed past Loris Karius for his first Bundesliga goal. Freiburg then protected their lead through five minutes of added time, completing a win that lifted them above Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

Maximilian Eggestein had put Freiburg ahead after 10 minutes, reacting to the rebound when Karius saved Matthias Ginter's header from a corner. Adrian Gantenbein equalised in the 30th minute with a deflected shot after another corner. Karius later denied Yannik Engelhardt, and the teams reached half-time level despite Freiburg's early pressure and opportunities.

Sportschau reported that Freiburg had more than 60 percent of possession before the break, along with six attempts to Schalke's two and five corners to one. Hasan Kurucay had prevented Igor Matanovic from extending the home side's lead, clearing his low effort shortly before Schalke found their equaliser.

The visitors became more threatening after the interval. Moussa Sylla had a chance in the 59th minute but was disrupted before he could score. Five minutes later, Suzuki lost possession and fouled Soufiane El-Faouzi while trying to recover it, receiving a second yellow card. Schalke could not turn the numerical advantage into a winning goal.

Freiburg coach Julian Schuster told Sportschau he was especially pleased with his players' response when short-handed, placing more emphasis on how they won than on becoming leaders. Schalke coach Miron Muslic expressed disappointment after what he considered a strong away performance and said the dismissal had changed the game.

Freiburg had already collected a club-record 10 points from their opening four matches, the Bundesliga reported. This fourth victory took them to 13 points after five games, extending that strong start despite having to play the closing stages without Suzuki.