Motherwell FC's bid to reach the Europa Conference League league phase ended with a 7-2 aggregate defeat to SC Freiburg. The Scottish Premiership side were eliminated by the German club, a Europa League finalist last season, across two legs.
The tie was effectively decided in the first leg, where Motherwell played the final 25 minutes with ten men after Martin Moormann's red card. That numerical disadvantage proved costly, setting up a difficult second leg in Germany.
Motherwell actually started the second match brightly, with Emmanuel Longelo scoring to level the score on the night. That brief hope was quickly extinguished. Freiburg's Derry Scherhant soon restored the lead, finishing from close range after a through ball from Maximilian Eggestein. Motherwell's only other chance of the first half fell to Sebastian Palmer-Houlden, but he was denied by the replacement goalkeeper after Noah Atubolu was substituted.
Freiburg's Yuito Suzuki was a standout, creating several chances after Motherwell's goal. Cyriaque Irie, making his first start of the season, hit the crossbar just before halftime. The German side's pressure told after the break. Scherhant turned provider, delivering two assists from corner-kicks within five minutes. Igor Matanović scored from one, and Irie netted his first goal for the club in the 63rd minute to make it 6-2 on aggregate.
Discipline was a major issue across both ties. In the second leg, Australian defender Jake Girdwood-Reich was sent off for a last-man challenge on Scherhant, forcing Motherwell to play another match with ten men. Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen made some saves, including denying Scherhant from a free-kick, but the defensive workload was immense. The woodwork also saved Motherwell twice in quick succession as the match wore on.
Manager Julian Schuster then made key substitutions, resting Suzuki, Matanović, Scherhant, and Matthias Ginter ahead of Freiburg's Bundesliga opener against Werder Bremen on Sunday. Even with changes, Freiburg added a late goal. New Japanese signing Keisuke Goto, who also scored seconds before the final whistle in the first leg, found the net five minutes from time to complete the scoring. The 21-year-old had previously scored on his Europa League debut for Anderlecht.
The European exit shifts focus entirely to domestic duties. Motherwell currently sit 4th in the Scottish Premiership with 4 points from their opening two games, following a win and a draw. Their recent form reads DW, and they have scored 2 goals while conceding just 1, giving them a +1 goal difference. They are 2 points behind leaders Celtic in the early title race.
The next major challenge is a trip to face Celtic, who are 1st in the table, on December 26th. The squad will need to regroup quickly, and fans can assess the personnel available on our squad list. This result, while disappointing, does not define their campaign. The team's solid early league form, provides a platform to build upon as they aim to close the gap at the top.
