Freiburg coach Julian Schuster stressed that topping the Bundesliga standings played "no role whatsoever, either before or after the game" against Schalke on Sunday.
"Having experienced what it’s like to win while down a man and still be able to press like that is a much more important and significant fact," he said after the match.
Freiburg went top of the Bundesliga after Keisuke Gotō made amends for Japanese compatriot Yuito Suzuki's dismissal with the late winner in the 2-1 victory.
"The boy is so hungry, he accepts everything, he asks questions. It's a blessing for us as a coaching team to have boys like him," Schuster said.
The Black Forest side took advantage of Borussia Dortmund drawing 2-2 with Werder Bremen on Friday and Bayern Munich managing the same score at Augsburg on Saturday.
The Europa League runners-up moved on to 13 points after five games, above Dortmund on goal difference and two ahead of champions Bayern.
Forward Igor Matovič, however, assured that the team won't just assume things will fall into place and that they won't underestimate this week's Conference League opponents FK Jablonec.
"For heaven's sake, that's not how any of us were raised," he said.
The victory against Schalke was their seventh in eight matches across all competitions this season as Freiburg are unbeaten so far.