Plea rocket helps Gladbach earn draw at Freiburg
(Reuters) - Borussia Moenchengladbach forward Alassane Plea blasted in a second-half equaliser to secure a 2-2 draw against Freiburg in an entertaining Bundesliga clash at the Schwarzwald Stadium on Saturday.
Plea's superb effort from distance came almost immediately after Italian winger Vincenzo Grifo had fired in a penalty awarded to hosts Freiburg for a foul on Lucas Hoeler to make it 2-1 in the 49th minute.
The visitors made a strong start in a league fixture that has not ended in favour of the away side since Gladbach won 1-0 at this stadium in 2002.
Swiss striker Breel Embolo gave them the lead in the 23rd minute with a left-foot finish for his first league goal of the season after Hoeler hit the post at the other end.
Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer produced a fine save to deny Grifo, but Freiburg made it 1-1 from the resulting corner when Philipp Lienhart headed in from point-blank range after an overhead kick from Baptiste Santamaria.
Freiburg pushed for victory and were unlucky as Grifo hit the post in the dying seconds and substitute Nils Petersen failed to finish from close range, before Sommer made a reflex save to deny Lienhart.
Gladbach remained seventh in the standings with 16 points from 10 games and Freiburg are seven places below them with eight points.
Marco Rose's Gladbach will travel to Real Madrid for a Champions League clash on Wednesday and can qualify for the last 16 from Group B if they avoid defeat or Shakhtar Donetsk draw with Inter Milan.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon and Ed Osmond)
