TSG Hoffenheim celebrated their third win in a row. 1899 won 2-0 against their direct competitor from Schalke, mainly thanks to a strong first round, and gained some air in the table basement.
Hoffenheim in the lead: Alex Kral maneuvers the ball past Fährmann into his own net.
IMAGO/Eibner
After the last two wins, Hoffenheim’s coach Pellegrino Matarazzo had no reason to change. He trusted the same starting eleven as in the 2-1 win in Bremen. TSG had previously started unchanged in the guest appearance on Matchday 5 in Dortmund.
At the other end, Ouwejan returned to the starting XI after recovering from an adductor problem and replaced Greiml (bench) – it was the left-back’s first starting XI since Matchday 12. Matriciani took over Greiml’s position in central defence. In addition, Schalke coach Thomas Reis brought in Skarke instead of Drexler (bank) in comparison to the 0: 3 against Bayer Leverkusen.
Bundesliga – 27th matchday
Bülter only hits the crossbar in the first minute
Uncertainty due to the position in the table was initially not noticeable in both teams threatened with relegation – on the contrary: the game started rapidly. Less than 120 seconds had passed when Bülter hit the top of the bar (1st) and Baumgartner headed over the goal (2nd).
In the intense game, TSG took control as the game went on. Hoffenheim pushed the guests back in their half and kept getting high balls to Kaderabek, who was playing his 200th Bundesliga game for TSG. This was also the case in the 20th minute: The right-back extended to Bebou, who in turn staged Becker. But he only shot at the ferryman (20th).
After a remarkable one-two: Kral hits his own goal
Only two turns of the pointer later, however, the hosts celebrated: After a remarkable one-two from Baumgartner and Angelino, Kral steered the cross from the left-back into his own goal (22nd). As Yoshida practically hit the post in direct return (24′) and Kramaric got stuck on Fährmann (31′), it remained 1-0 until the break. Ouwejan’s early substitution (36′) made it clear that Reis was dissatisfied with the performance.
Schalke came out of the dressing room a little better – at least the Royal Blues acted a little more offensively. Despite the efforts, Baumann did not even have to intervene seriously. Only Bülter’s long-range shot caused danger (53′).
Bishop misses 3: 0 – Baumann keeps the zero
The Kraichgauers, on the other hand, acted a little more cautiously in the second 45 minutes, but then suddenly got a great chance to make it 2-0. After Yoshida fouled Baumgartner, referee Matthias Jöllenbeck immediately pointed to the point. Since Kramaric had already been substituted, Bebou took responsibility, but failed because of the ferryman. However, the striker was lucky that Schalke’s goalkeeper didn’t have his foot on the goal line, so the penalty kick was repeated according to the video images. Bebou made the second attempt in goal (70′).
Reis reacted and brought on two fresh offensive players in Terodde and Topp, who was making his Bundesliga debut. The desired effect did not materialize. Rather, Bischof missed the 3-0 (85th) after Matriciani’s poor reception of the ball. This went unpunished, however, because Baumann parried Latza’s (86′) and then Bülter’s (90’+2′) long-range shot in the closing stages.
Schalke slips to last place
As a result, TSG celebrated their third win in a row and for the first time since the first leg did not concede a goal in the Bundesliga. The lead from 1899 to the relegation place is now five points. Schalke, on the other hand, slipped to last place and are five points behind VfL Bochum, the first non-relegation spot.
Schalke will open the upcoming 28th match day on Friday (8.30 p.m.) with a home game against their direct competitor in the relegation battle, Hertha BSC. TSG have a difficult task ahead of them, Hoffenheim are visiting Bayern Munich next Saturday (3:30 p.m.).
