Nothing but a win was likely to be sufficient for Kiel, but the visit of a Freiburg side chasing Champions League football presented a huge challenge.
Unsurprisingly, then, the visitors were on top early on and came close to opening the scoring inside five minutes when Ritsu Doan showed brilliant feet in the area to go past two players, but his effort deflected just wide of the post.
Kiel, who netted seven times across their two previous matches, responded in kind and came close to an opener themselves when Steven Skrzybski sent a volley just wide of the post.
The open nature of the contest continued throughout the first half, with Freiburg’s Matthias Ginter hitting the bar at one end before Kiel raced up the other end to break the deadlock.
Shuto Machino picked out Lasse Rosenboom with a superb pass that allowed the defender to open the scoring with a tidy finish, with what was just the second goal of his senior career.
Kiel’s lead never looked secure as Vincenzo Grifo became the second visiting player to strike the woodwork, before Junior Adamu’s effort was cleared off the line.
Eventually, Freiburg were rewarded for their patience with an equaliser in first-half stoppage time through Johan Manzambi, who pounced on a loose ball in the box to fire home for a fourth goal involvement in five matches.
The visitors started the second half as they ended the first, and their dominance was rewarded with the goal that completed the turnaround.
Grifo’s brilliant cross gave Lucas Holer the simple task of nodding the ball home from a few yards out for a third goal in as many appearances.
Freiburg seemed content to let Kiel have most of the ball after taking the lead, defending brilliantly and limiting the hosts to shots from long range.
David Zec’s effort from distance was followed by a Skrzybski effort that was blocked, as Kiel began to run out of ideas and time to save their top-flight status.
Despite their best efforts, Kiel could not find a way through the resilient Freiburg defence, slipping to a defeat that confirms their relegation from the Bundesliga.
It’s a huge win for Freiburg, though, which extends their unbeaten run to five games and means they can secure Champions League football with victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on the final day.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Vincenzo Grifo (Freiburg)