First-half masterclass: TSG beat Frankfurt
TSG Hoffenheim have made a statement in the battle for survival and claimed a 3-1 (3-0) victory against cup finalists Eintracht Frankfurt. Christoph Baumgartner headed TSG in front (8), with an Andrej Kramarić penalty (41) and an Ihlas Bebou goal (45+3) adding to the lead shortly before the break. Stanley Nsoki was red-carded directly after the interval (47) and Frankfurt subsequently grew stronger, with Mario Götze pulling a goal back (54). But the 10 men of TSG passionately withstood the Eintracht pressure and saw the 3-1 win over the line.
The line-up
Pellegrino Matarazzo made two changes to the starting XI that lost 1-0 away to RB Leipzig. Grischa Prömel started in place of Pavel Kadeřábek (muscular injury), while Stanley Nsoki replaced the suspended Kevin Akpoguma.
The scenario
Schalke's victory on Friday meant TSG went into the game against Eintracht Frankfurt in 15th place, while the visitors were up in ninth position.
Number of the game: 250
Andrej Kramarić made his 250th appearance for TSG Hoffenheim in a competitive game and moved ahead of Sejad Salihović (249 games) in the rankings. TSG's record goalscorer now sits behind Oliver Baumann (327) and Sebastian Rudy (324) with the third-most appearances for Hoffenheim. He scored a goal to mark the occasion.
Moment of the match
The goal for 1-0: Following an outstanding passing move, Christoph Baumgartner headed a Geiger cross into the back of the net. The goal paved the way for the victory over SGE.
Fighting spirit
Despite being down a player for almost the entirety of the second half, the whole team fought with great passion to secure the three points.
Outlook
TSG Hoffenheim face an away trip to VfL Wolfsburg next week. Kick-off is at 15:30 CET on Saturday.
Stats
Line-ups
TSG Hoffenheim: Baumann – Ozan Kabak, Brooks, Nsoki – Bebou, Geiger, Angeliño – Kramarić (Becker, 78), Prömel (Tohumcu, 90+6) – Baumgartner (Dolberg, 78), Dabbur (Bičakčić, 51)
Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp – Ndicka, Hasebe, Toure (Borre, 55) – Buta (Knauff, 83), Kamada, Sow (Ebimbe, 73), Lenz (Alidou, 73) – Lindström (Aaronson, 46), Götze – Kolo Muani
Goals: 1-0 Baumgartner (8), 2-0 Kramarić (41), 3-0 Bebou (45+3), 3-1 Götze (54)
Incidents of note: Red card for Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner (45+1), red card for Stanley Nsoki (47)