Braga claimed a 2-1 first-leg victory over Freiburg in their Europa League semi-final, thanks to a stoppage-time winner from substitute Mario Dorgeles. Noah Atubolu failed to deal with a late shot from Vitor Carvalho, and Dorgeles reacted fastest, giving Braga a narrow advantage to protect in next week’s away leg.
That decisive moment came two minutes into added time, when Carvalho’s low drive looked simple for Atubolu. The Freiburg goalkeeper pushed the ball awkwardly into the turf in front of goal. Dorgeles anticipated the loose ball and finished from close range, punishing the late handling error.
The game had already seen a major swing in Atubolu’s contribution. Just before half-time, Philipp Lienhart was judged to have pulled Gustaf Lagerbielke
down at a corner, giving Braga a penalty. Rodrigo Zalazar struck powerfully towards the bottom-left corner, but Atubolu dived right and produced an outstanding one-handed save.
Earlier, both sides struck within the opening quarter of an hour. Pau Victor missed an early chance for Braga, shooting wide when well placed. Demir Ege Tiknaz then slid in to turn home after eight minutes, but Freiburg responded quickly, with Vincenzo Grifo sweeping in Niklas Beste’s cross to level on 16 minutes.
Braga suffered a setback in the first half when captain Ricardo Horta went off injured. The playmaker is central to much of Braga’s attacking rhythm. Despite that loss, the Portuguese side still created the better openings before the interval, capped by the awarded penalty that Zalazar could not convert.
After the break, Freiburg tried to build on Atubolu’s penalty stop. Maximilian Eggestein saw a promising effort denied by Braga goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek, who reacted sharply. At the other end, Fran Navarro appealed for another spot-kick after another tussle with Lagerbielke in the area, but the referee waved play on.
Overall, Braga carried a slight edge in attacking numbers. They attempted 13 shots to Freiburg’s 10 and produced 2.37 expected goals compared with 1.11 for the Bundesliga side. That advantage owed much to the first-half penalty and the late Carvalho effort that Atubolu failed to hold.
| Team | Goals | Shots | Expected Goals (xG) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braga | 2 | 13 | 2.37 |
| Freiburg | 1 | 10 | 1.11 |
For Atubolu, the night highlighted both strength and vulnerability. The saved penalty was the sixth of the last seven spot-kicks faced with Freiburg in all competitions. Since the start of 2023-24, only Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, with eight, and Frederik Ronnow, with seven, have stopped more penalties across the big five European leagues.
Dorgeles’ close-range finish also continued a clear trend for Braga in this Europa League campaign. The goal was Braga’s fifth scored by a substitute in the competition this season, matching Celta Vigo for the most such goals. Braga still face a major test, though, as Freiburg have won all six home Europa League matches this season.
Braga leave it late #UEL pic.twitter.com/9yE1IttG03UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) April 30, 2026
Braga leave the first leg with a slim lead, gained through Dorgeles’ stoppage-time strike and a generally stronger attacking output. Freiburg’s perfect home record in this season’s Europa League, backed by Atubolu’s penalty-saving record, means the second leg remains finely balanced despite Braga’s advantage.
