TSG 1899 Hoffenheim put FC Augsburg in their place in a direct duel in the fight for a European Cup place. Coach Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team defeated their rivals 3-1 (2-0) in the Bundesliga on Sunday. This also ended a series of five unbeaten games for the guests. Wout Weghorst (17th minute) with his sixth goal and Andrej Kramaric (20th) with his ninth goal of the season gave Hoffenheim an early cushion.
Ermedin Demirovic (61st) made things exciting again for FCA with his 15th goal in this round. Coach Jess Thorup’s team then ran in vain after the deficit in front of 28,881 spectators. Joker Ihlas Bebou (90th) made everything clear. Augsburg, Hoffenheim and SC Freiburg are now 36 points each behind sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt (42). “This is absolutely a relief,” said Weghorst at DAZN: “We came out great. The first 30 minutes were very confident. Our work ethic was very good.”
Augsburg went into the game again with captain Demirovic after serving a yellow card suspension and without the injured Kevin Mbabu, Iago, Fredrik Jensen, Niklas Dorsch and Elvis Rexhbecaj. The guests had only just sorted themselves out when Kristijan Jakic had to leave the field after twelve minutes with ankle problems.
Just a few minutes later, FCA appeared powerless against a lightning counterattack by Hoffenheim: Weghorst initiated it himself and pushed the ball into the net after a cross from Pavel Kaderabek. The next counterattack, when a ball was intercepted by goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, also happened much too quickly for the Fuggerstadt team: Kramaric took the measure from 18 meters and hit the right corner with a shot – 2-0.
The Hoffenheim team certainly offered the best entertainment on the family game day in Sinsheim with ticket promotions and events. A week after the late defeat at leaders Bayer Leverkusen, TSG confidently played down the first half against the visibly sobered Augsburg team. Goalkeeper Oliver Baumann only had to save once against the agile Ruben Vargas when David Jurasek let the FCA playmaker run (42nd).
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Arne Engels sent a sign of life immediately after the break, whose touchdown Baumann just managed to deflect around the post. The guests now played more courageously forward, Hoffenheim managed their lead too casually. A deflected shot from Arne Maier landed on the post (56th) – and then Demirovic scored after a pass from Philip Tietz. Vargas in particular kept pushing his colleagues forward, but the Augsburg team could no longer find the decisive gap. In the 81st minute, Weghorst saved the hosts’ lead with a header from Patric Pfeifer on the line before substitute Bebou made the decision.