Freiburg escape drop zone with late win over Bayern Munich

A late Nils Petersen goal gave Freiburg a shock 2-1 win over Bayern Munich and kept them above the relegation zone with one game of the season remaining.

Bastian Schweinsteiger gave Bayern the lead, but Admir Mehmedi levelled before half-time.

Bayern wasted chances to grab a winner and they were punished by their former forward Petersen, who came on and scored within three minutes to earn a priceless victory for Freiburg and condemned Bayern to a third straight defeat in the Bundesliga.

Freiburg had not expected any favours from the Bundesliga champions and a glance at their team sheet confirmed those fears.

Pep Guardiola named a strong team with Sebastian Rode in for Philipp Lahm and Mario Gotze starting for Thomas Muller.

Jonathan Schmid gave Manuel Neuer his first test in the ninth minute, but the Germany number one responded well with a save before Bayern found their gear.

Medhi Benatia had a goal ruled out for a foul before Schweinsteiger marked his 500th appearance for Bayern by turning in Mitchell Weiser's cross.

It left Freiburg with a mountain to climb, but they accepted the challenge with Mehmedi scoring a stunning 25-yard effort to bring them back on terms.

Gotze nearly restored Bayern's lead early in the second half, but his header was saved expertly by Roman Burki.

Schweinsteiger went even closer with a free-kick which clipped the crossbar as Freiburg started to cling on to what could still prove to be a crucial point, rather than risk trying to find three only to come away empty-handed.

That attitude changed late on when the fresh legs of Petersen were sent on for a tiring Mehmedi.

It was a winning move with the former Bayern forward volleying in from Karim Guede's cross to send the Dreisamstadion crowd wild with joy, although they still need a point at Hannover on the final day of the season to be certain of avoiding direct relegation.