Going into the match with a perfect record across all competitions this term, Freiburg came out of the blocks on the more adventurous side, nearly going in front within the first 15 minutes.
While Philipp Treu’s effort was a rather straightforward stop for Gladbach keeper Moritz Nicolas, the latter had more to do with Yannik Engelhardt’s attempt moments later, making an important save to force a corner.
The pressure from the Breisgau-Brasilianer was soon rewarded, though, as Derry Scherhant’s corner was not correctly judged by Nicolas. That resulted in Engelhardt - who had spent last term on loan with Die Fohlen - being able to head the ball into an open net from close range.
A few minutes later, Igor Matanovic doubled the hosts’ lead after he knocked in Matthias Ginter’s pass with a first-time effort via the post.
Yuito Suzuki almost made it three when he was picked out by his keeper, but Nicolas was equal to it on that occasion. The interval changed nothing for the visitors, and their situation got even worse at the beginning of the second period when captain Tim Kleindienst grabbed a second yellow card for a hard foul, leaving his team down a man.
Despite the numerical advantage, the Breisgau-Brasilianer appeared to take it easy for about 20 minutes, passing the ball around but rarely threatening. But a quickfire double gave their victory a far more emphatic look, with both previous scorers doubling up.
Firstly, Matanovic’s header from Jordy Makengo’s cross made it 3-0, before an Engelhardt finish from outside the box less than two minutes later put the game beyond all lingering doubt.
A fifth from captain Maximilian Eggestein, who has now scored in back-to-back games, left the home fans in a frenzy. Freiburg might not stay at the top of the league long-term, but they’ll certainly harbour some early hopes of a first top-four finish in the Bundesliga since 1995, having now won six in all competitions to begin the season, while scoring 22 times during that run.
Die Fohlen, meanwhile, are bottom of the league, having now gone winless in their first three matches for the second year running.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yannik Engelhardt (Freiburg)