After quickly falling behind 0-2, TSG Hoffenheim put up a strong fight against Tottenham Hotspur, but could no longer equalize after the 2-3 defeat and is now out of the Europa League.
Hoffenheim coach Christian Ilzer made four changes after the 3-1 win at Holstein Kiel: Instead of Gendrey, Arthur Chaves (both on the bench), Prass (sick, not in the squad) and Yardimci (not eligible to play in the Europa League), Kaderabek, Nsoki, Jurasek and Becker (debut in the starting lineup in the 2024/25 season) started.
Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou made three changes to the severely weakened English team compared to the 3-2 defeat at Everton in the Premier League. Austin, Bentancur and Richarlison played for keeper Kinsky (not eligible to play), Spence (not in the squad) and Sarr (injured).
Maddison and Son shock TSG early on
The Kraichgau team were caught out cold by the English team, who quickly switched from defense to offense after winning the ball: Pedro Porro sent Maddison a long ball from his own half in the third minute, who beat Akpoguma easily in the duel and scored the 1-0. Hoffenheim also looked very vulnerable in defense as the game progressed. Richarlison, Pedro Porro and Son missed further good opportunities (12th, 14th, 16th).
In the middle of the second half, a loss of the ball by Akpoguma near the center line led to the 0:2 from the point of view of the German representative. In the end, it was Son, who, with the help of Kaderabek, who decisively deflected, was responsible for the goal (22.).
TSG misses chances, Baumann prevents 0:3
It was only after falling two goals behind that the home side woke up, gained more possession – and also created chances: Austin, the guests’ regular number three goalkeeper, did, however, save promising attempts by Moerstedt and Bischof on two occasions (28′, 33′).
In the final minutes before half-time, both teams had another big chance, Baumann made a strong save against Bergvall (45th minute), and on the opposite side, Becker did not hit the ball fully in the best position (45.+1).
Penalty revised, Stach scores after a long run
After the break, TSG remained on the back foot and became even more dominant. Kramaric’s header hit the crossbar (55′), Bischof’s shot went just wide (60′). Shortly afterwards, Hoffenheim was awarded a penalty, but Austin had not committed the foul inside the six-yard box as the referee had initially decided, so the decision was reversed (64′).
Shortly afterwards, the long-awaited goal was scored: Stach initiated a counterattack himself and, after a full sprint across half the pitch, received the ball back in the six-yard box – only 2-1 from the perspective of the home side (68).
Doppelter Son sorgt für die Vorentscheidung
Nach dem Anschluss allerdings schaltete Tottenham plötzlich wieder einen Gang hoch – und kam schnell zum 3:1. Son traf recht alleingelassenen mit einem akkuraten Schuss zum zweiten Mal an diesem Abend (77.). The game then petered out, but out of nowhere, substitute Mokwa scored with his head in his European debut to make it 2:3 (88′). The final score remained 3:3.
Hoffenheim will play against Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend (Sunday, 3:30 p.m.). The final game of the group stage in the Europa League will be followed by the away game at RSC Anderlecht on Thursday next week (Thursday, 9 p.m.). Tottenham will face Leicester City in the Premier League (Sunday, 3 p.m.), followed by the home game against IF Elfsborg in the International Cup on Thursday (9 p.m.).
