Freiburg to shake off bad week ahead of Europa League semi

Borussia Dortmund's Fabio Silva (C) scores his side's fourth goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and SC Freiburg at Signal Iduna Park. Bernd Thissen/dpa

Freiburg are determined to shrug off a week to forget as they prepare for Thursday's start of a Europa League semi-final tie at Portugal's Sporting Braga.

Freiburg lost a German Cup semi-final 2-1 in extra time at VfB Stuttgart on Thursday and then crashed 4-0 in the Bundesliga at Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.

But everyone remains positive as Freiburg aim to cap their best European season with a place in the May 20 final in Istanbul and finish the Bundesliga on a high by reaching seventh place for another year of continental football.

"We have had a good season so far, especially in the Europa League. The anticipation is simply huge. That's why I believe that we will put this match behind us rather quickly," defender Philipp Lienhart said in Dortmund.

Coach Julian Schuster spoke of "a deserved defeat" in Dortmund and added: "What matters to us now is to put this week behind us. That’s what sets this team apart: learning the right lessons from victories. But they do exactly the same after defeats."

Schuster rotated his team in Dortmund, with key players Johan Manzambi, Matthias Ginter and not even part of the squad in Dortmund to give them a rest "after they squeezed everything left in their tank" in the Cup match in Stuttgart.