This might be the best season for Freiburg to finish in top 4 because Leverkusen made a quite bad start and started to recover really late. But Freiburg wasted this chance as well. After a fight with Union Berlin for this goal the winner was Union Berlin. Especially that loss against Union Berlin by 4-2 on the final weeks caused Freiburg to get behind more and lose their chance significantly.
I think Freiburg board must be satisfied with the work Freiburg have been doing so far anyway. They have already been not a regular in top 4 so being right behind that area is still success for them. As long as they maintain their game quality there should be no problem.
I don't know how this season has been any better for Freiburg than the previous one. They are now in fifth place in the Europa League zone, last season they were in sixth place, also in the Europa League zone. The club is playing consistently not bad, but you can't say that they have shown something incredible. Maybe if only they beat Bayern in the German Cup in the quarterfinals.