This is the point where the story gets interesting. Freiburg are not just having a good start to the season; they are sitting top of the Bundesliga on 13 points with a +10 goal difference by Matchday 6, and that is the sort of beginning that forces everyone to stop treating them like a nice little surprise. Four wins from their first five league games is excellent. For Freiburg, it is also history: their best ever opening to a Bundesliga season.
That alone would be enough to make Sunday’s visit to Bayer Leverkusen feel loaded. But Freiburg’s schedule has not bothered to ease up for them. Leverkusen away is followed by Monaco in the Conference League and then Bayern Munich at home. In other words, this is not a gentle moment to admire the view from the top. It is the kind of run that tells you very quickly whether a fast start is a real statement or just a flattering headline.
Freiburg have earned the right to be taken seriously
There is nothing accidental about this position. Freiburg have not crept to the summit through lucky breaks and foggy one-goal wins. They have beaten Fortuna Düsseldorf 5-1 in the first round of the DFB Pokal, opened their UEFA Conference League campaign with a 3-2 home win over Jablonec, and backed it up in the league with the kind of consistency that puts pressure on everyone else.
The numbers tell the story cleanly. By Matchday 6, Freiburg had 13 points and a +10 goal difference. That is not a small step forward; it is a proper statement. The club’s best-ever opening to a Bundesliga season suggests this is a side that has found a rhythm, a belief and, crucially, a level of control that has often been missing in previous years.
And yet the warning lights are already flashing as well. Last weekend against Schalke, Yuito Suzuki was sent off in the 64th minute with the game level at 1-1. Freiburg still won, which says plenty about their resilience, but that dismissal means they will now have to deal with a genuine gap in quality and options against Bayer Leverkusen. Schuster was right to be pleased with how the team handled the situation, saying he was proud the players pushed through with ten men and made it feel as though they did not even have a man disadvantage. He also pointed out that the opposition had very few opportunities but still scored too many goals. That is the kind of balanced frustration that often comes with a strong team trying to become an even better one.
Now comes the brutal part
It is one thing to be top in September. It is another to stay there once the fixtures start biting. Leverkusen are not a backdrop to Freiburg’s story; they are the first real exam in a punishing sequence. If Freiburg can leave Sunday still looking composed, then the conversation changes again. If they wobble, the demanding run against Monaco and Bayern Munich will suddenly look a lot more threatening.
That is why this match matters beyond the obvious three points. Freiburg have already proved they can start fast. Now they have to prove they can carry that momentum into a stretch that will expose any weakness. Best-ever opening or not, the season does not care about sentiment. It cares about what happens when the table tightens and the opponent gets sharper. Leverkusen versus Freiburg is exactly that kind of test.
