SC Freiburg and 1. FC Heidenheim were level at 0:0 after a brisk opening on the 30th matchday of the Bundesliga 2025/26 season, with referee Patrick Ittrich in charge. Heidenheim wore mourning armbands in memory of Roger Prinzen, their NLZ director, who died unexpectedly at the age of 57.
Heidenheim arrived with a little momentum after ending a 15-match winless run by beating Union Berlin 3:1 the previous week and had gone unbeaten in three matches, but they still began the afternoon seven points behind St. Pauli and relegation place 16. Frank Schmidt was forced to do without Dinkci because of Achilles tendon problems, while Schimmer dropped to the bench and Ibrahimovic and Dorsch came into the side.
The first half was already tilted toward chances before either team could settle. Both sides pressed high from the start, but clear openings stayed scarce until the 13th minute, when Höler played Grifo through and the Freiburg winger set up Manzambi, whose shot from a tight angle found the left side netting. Two minutes later Matanovic dragged a 15-meter effort narrowly wide to the left, and in the 16th minute Ibrahimovic crossed from the right for Pieringer, who headed from a tight angle onto the side netting.
Freiburg stayed on the front foot as the half wore on. Manzambi found space and won a corner in the 18th minute, then Grifo delivered from the flag in the 19th and Matanovic headed narrowly wide to the right. The sequence summed up the opening spell: lively, direct and full of half-chances, but still without a finish to match the pace.
That left the game in the same place the numbers suggested before kickoff. Heidenheim had steadied themselves, but not enough to close the gap on the bottom end of the table, and Freiburg had already shown they could turn pressure into openings without finding the final touch. The ticker followed the match live as both sides searched for the first goal, and for all the early movement, the scoreline remained unchanged.