VfB Stuttgart
| 1-0 | Boka | (10. Min) |
| 2-1 | Harnik | (29. Min) |
SC Freiburg
| 1-1 | Rosenthal | (13. Min) |
Arthur Boka
Stats 
Arthur Boka scores against Freiburg.
Berlin bound!
With an impressive performance in an exceptional atmosphere at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, VfB beat SC Freiburg 2-1 to book their place in the DFB-Cup final and simultaneously secured a UEFA Europa League qualifying place. The Stuttgart goals were scored by Arthur Boka and Martin Harnik.
Bruno Labbadia began with the same eleven that beat Borussia Mönchengladbach at the weekend and the sides took to the pitch in front of impressive choreographies from both fan groups. The first chance of the game fell to Martin Harnik, who fired over with just three minutes played. The Austrian was in the thick of things just two minutes later, being stopped by Oliver Baumann in the SC goal on this occasion as VfB took control early on.
The home side continued to lay siege on the Freiburg goal and in the tenth minute, Ibrahima Traoré broke on the left and fired square for Arthur Boka, who slotted home from close range to give VfB a deserved lead. Much to the dismay of the bulk of the 59,000 in the Mercedes-Benz Arena, the hosts lead was short lived, with Jan Rosenthal getting on to a through pass to poke past Sven Ulreich and level the scores (14’).
Harnik restores the VfB lead
The game took a slight lull in the following minutes but that was all to change in the 28th minute, when the Freiburg defence failed to clear their lines and the ball fell to Christian Gentner, who crossed for Martin Harnik to head VfB back into the lead. The tempo of the game remained high for the remainder of the half but there were to be no further clear efforts on goal and the home side went in at the break leading by 2-1.
Diashow
Bruno Labbadia’s men began the second period brightly, with Christian Gentner trying his luck from the edge of the box before just minutes later, Vedad Ibisevic broke and got a shot in on goal but the striker’s effort was cleared off the goal-line. At the other end, an error in the VfB defence allowed Max Kruse to get a shot in on goal, but Sven Ulreich reacted excellently to turn the ball over the crossbar in spectacular fashion (70’).
Ibrahima Traoré: “That was super! We want the cup now too!” Post match comments
With SC pressing to find an equaliser, room opened up for VfB to maneuver and, with four minutes to go, Martin Harnik again broke free on goal, but was this time denied by the outstretched leg of Baumann. With the clock ticking down, VfB controlled the possession and comfortably held the guests at bay. At the end of an intensive ninety minutes, VfB ran out 2-1 winners and secured their place in the DFB-Cup final. As an added bonus, VfB Stuttgart’s progression to the final also guarantees them a UEFA Europa League qualifying spot, as final opponents FC Bayern Munich will be represented in the Champions League again next season.
