SC Freiburg brought an end to their seven-match Bundesliga losing streak against Borussia Dortmund by earning a hard-fought 1-1 draw at the Europa-Park Stadion.

Dortmund showed signs of recovery from their frustrating 2-2 draw with FK Bodø/Glimt in the UEFA Champions League, delivering a strong and confident first-half performance. The visitors almost made the perfect start inside five minutes when Yan Couto’s delivery from the right picked out an unmarked Serhou Guirassy, but the striker’s header drifted narrowly wide of the left post.

Guirassy was again involved moments later, linking up neatly with Carney Chukwuemeka inside the penalty area. The English midfielder came agonisingly close to opening the scoring, only to see his close-range effort from the right side of the six-yard box strike the left post.

Dortmund continued to apply pressure and were rewarded just after the half-hour mark. A free-kick into the box eventually fell to Ramy Bensebaini, who controlled the ball calmly before firing goalwards. A slight deflection proved decisive, sending the ball past Noah Atubolu at his near post to give the visitors a deserved lead at the interval.

The second half, however, unfolded very differently. Eight minutes after the restart, Dortmund’s task became significantly harder following a costly error. An underhit pass from Gregor Kobel left Jobe Bellingham exposed, and the midfielder was forced to bring down Philipp Treu as he threatened to break into the box. The referee showed no hesitation in producing a straight red card.

Despite being reduced to 10 men, Dortmund initially defended resolutely. But Freiburg eventually made their numerical advantage count with 15 minutes remaining. Christian Günter’s delivery into the area found Lucas Höler, who produced a superb piece of skill to control the ball and unleash a stunning volley on the turn, sending it into the top right-hand corner to level the match.

The home side thought they had completed the turnaround late on when Igor Matanović converted from close range, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

In the end, Freiburg had to settle for a point, which lifts them up to ninth in the table. Dortmund remain third, but the draw represents a missed opportunity to close the gap on league leaders Bayern Munich.