With a lot of luck, TSG Hoffenheim managed to get some air in the relegation battle. Thanks to a double strike within two minutes, the Bundesliga soccer club has clinched its second win in a row and is three points behind the relegation rank of relegation. The club from the southwest benefited from a long weak performance by Werder Bremen and won the Hanseatic League 2-1 (0-0) at the end of the 26th matchday on Sunday evening in the Weser Stadium.
Right at the beginning of the second half, Andrej Kramaric (50th minute) and Christoph Baumgartner (52nd) shocked the hosts and a large part of the 41,000 spectators in the sold-out stadium. Central defender Amos Pieper (76′) made the connection and scored the third header of the evening. Maximilian Philipp hit the post for Werder in injury time. And because Mitchel Weiser was offside, referee Sascha Stegemann took back a hand penalty that had already been given.
The Bundesliga top scorer Niclas Füllkrug, who successfully returned for the national team in the international break with three goals, remained pale and was symptomatic of an unfortunate performance by the Hanseatic League. Hoffenheim acted smarter, were more present in duels and made fewer mistakes than the home side. Bremen remain in midfield, but coach Ole Werner’s team has been waiting for a win for four games now.
The point win also took the pressure off the last counted Hoffenheim coach Pellegrino Matarazzo. The opponents from the southwest had previously won only one of the last eight league games. TSG has been fighting relegation in the league for weeks.
Zero derby number after Fifa shock: At the end of a turbulent week, 1. FC Köln missed out on a landmark victory in the Bundesliga. In the 96th Bundesliga derby against arch-rival Borussia Mönchengladbach, Cologne only managed to draw 0-0 despite a clear superiority. FC, who have been sentenced to a one-year transfer ban by world governing body FIFA, have been without a win for six games and have still not moved significantly away from the relegation zone.
The Gladbacher have also remained without a win in the five games since the 3: 2 against FC Bayern, but they are well away from the dangerous zone. After all, they scored for only the second time in the last eight away games.
The Cologne team had been convicted by the world association because they allegedly instigated 17-year-old Jaka Cuber Potocnik to break the contract when he changed last year. The club denies this and wants to appeal to the International Sports Court Cas.
Because a lot of pyrotechnics were ignited in the Gladbach curve before kick-off and then a large foggy blanket lay over the field, the game started about three minutes late. Before the game, after the Fifa shock, the Cologne fans felt more of a reaction of defiance. And the team almost got off to a dream start with a double mishap in Gladbach. After Gladbach’s Ko Itakura played the ball in Linton Maina’s foot, Ramy Bensebaini slipped away after his cross. Gladbach’s keeper Jonas Omlin (2′) saved Davie Selke’s shot from the turn. Nine minutes later, Kinsgley Schindler, who surprisingly joined the team, shot just over after a cross from Maina, who was agile at the beginning.
Cologne clearly belonged to the first quarter of an hour, but then FC were lucky when Timo Hübers hit Florian Neuhaus in the penalty area on the standing leg, but the Gladbachers were denied the penalty even after studying the video. Meanwhile, some Cologne fans cheered too early in the 22nd minute when a free kick from Florian Kainz from 18 meters went into the side netting and then flew from the advertising board into the net from behind. Omlin then parried again well against Schindler (28th) and Eric Martel (38th). In short: The 0-0 at break was more than happy for the strangely uninspired Gladbacher. But, as is so often the case, the people of Cologne simply lacked efficiency.
After the change, the guests got more involved in the game and promptly created their first good chances through captain Lars Stindl (53′) and Neuhaus (54′). Both times the ball just missed the goal. The people of Cologne were immediately aware of their insecurity. Coach Steffen Baumgart reacted quickly with two offensive changes. Stabilizing the team succeeded. However, this did not solve the problem of penetrating power.
The 26th match day of the Bundesliga was dominated by the top game between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on Saturday evening. Bayern won the game 4-2 and took back the lead in the table – with a two-point lead over BVB (read the analysis of the match here). In the run-up, a verbal exchange of blows between Bayern boss Oliver Kahn and TV expert Lothar Matthäus on how to deal with the ousted FCB coach Julian Nagelsmann caused a stir.
The other results of the 26th matchday:
Schalke’s home defeat was overshadowed by the death of a spectator in the Gelsenkirchen Stadium. The Bundesliga will continue next Saturday with the 27th matchday.
