Braga beat Freiburg 2-1 at home in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on 2026-04-30 and will take a slender advantage into the return match in Germany. [1]
Demir Ege Tiknaz put Braga ahead after 8 minutes, before Vincenzo Grifo levelled for Freiburg about 16 minutes into the game. [1] Braga then missed a penalty before halftime after VAR awarded the spot kick, with Rodrigo Zalazar failing to convert after Philipp Lienhart fouled Gustaf Lagerbielke. [1]
Mario Dorgeles settled the tie in the 92nd minute, scoring in injury time to give Braga a 2-1 win. [1] Braga coach Carlos Vicens said, “Even after we conceded, the team prevailed. We missed a penalty and still managed to win,” and added, “The team never stopped wanting to win... And we got the reward in the form of a 2-1 victory.” [1]
Vicens said Freiburg would try to overturn the result in Germany and that Braga must be ready to repeat their level away from home. [1] The winner of the tie will face either Nottingham Forest or Aston Villa in the final in Istanbul on May 20. [1]