Labbadia suffers in minute 94: Hertha BSC races unchecked to the abyss

Labbadia suffers in minute 94
Hertha BSC races unchecked to the abyss

01/24/2023 10:29 p.m

Hertha BSC is reeling from the World Cup break and deep into the Bundesliga relegation battle. The defeat at VfL Bochum is followed by a rough home defeat against the strong VfL Wolfsburg. Meanwhile, VfB Stuttgart, threatened with relegation, surprised TSG from Hoffenheim.

Hertha BSC – VfL Wolfsburg 0: 5 (0: 3)

After the next bitter bankruptcy, Hertha BSC is teetering on relegation from the Bundesliga. Far too harmless Berliners never had a chance against the in-form VfL Wolfsburg, lost well deservedly with 0: 5 (0: 3) and are back in crisis mode. Four days before the important city derby against Union Berlin, Hertha ended the first half of the season in 17th place and is in danger of falling behind the competition. Mattias Svanberg (4th), Maximilian Arnold (31st, penalty), Jonas Wind (34th), Ridle Baku (72nd) and Omar Marmoush (86th) brought the capital club after the 1: 3 at VfL Bochum from last Saturday the second defeat in 2023. In addition, Hertha has only won one of the past six games. The mood in Wolfsburg is completely different, and after their sixth win in a row they are trying to get a taste of the Champions League ranks.

“There is no need to worry that we are beaming towards relegation,” Hertha’s sporting director Fredi Bobic said before the game. And then, in front of only 29,483 spectators in the Olympic Stadium, this first half was forgotten. The energetic Patrick Wimmer found the free Svanberg from the right with a free-kick cross, the Swede scored directly from 13 meters. The Berliners did not get any offensive answers as a result, and the new starters Dodi Lukebakio and Suat Serdar hardly helped. Hertha didn’t create a reasonable goal chance in the first round. Instead, VfL kept pushing the hosts who were too passive into their own half – and gladly accepted their gifts.

Lukebakio, who was standing in the wall in the penalty area, blocked a Svanberg free-kick from around 18 meters with his arm completely unnecessarily – Arnold converted the penalty kick safely. Just three minutes later, Wolfsburg played a first-class counterattack until Wind lobbed the ball over Hertha goalkeeper Oliver Christensen and into the goal. “We want to see you fight,” echoed through the Olympic Stadium. At half-time there was a shrill whistling concert from the Hertha fans. After the break, the Berliners came out of the dressing room a little braver, but without becoming too dangerous. Lukebakio tried a number of things, his circle ball from the inside right going wide to the left of the goal in the 51st minute. The game slowed down noticeably, but occasionally Wolfsburg was still able to shine. The promoted Baku refined a nice preliminary work by Svanberg ice cold to the fourth VfL goal, Marmoush followed up. “I wish the club that they get out of there. My heart is in Hertha,” said Nico Kovac, who was very satisfied with his team’s performance after the furious win against his old love Hertha BSC

TSG Hoffenheim vs VfB Stuttgart

Bruno Labbadia screamed and gesticulated incessantly – but despite the impressive morale of his new charges, the coach still has to wait for the first win of his second term at VfB Stuttgart. After all, the Swabians, after falling behind and with ten men, made it 2: 2 (1: 1) in the Baden-Württemberg duel at TSG Hoffenheim. With the draw, VfB has exacerbated the Kraichgauer crisis. Serhou Guirassy (45+5) and Wataru Endo (77) scored for Stuttgart (16 points), who last won at TSG almost ten years ago. The Stuttgart misery abroad is now taking on unbelievable proportions: VfB have been waiting for an away win for over 13 months.

The Hoffenheim team (19 points), who have fallen far short of expectations, have only scored two points in the past seven games and, like VfB, have to prepare for the relegation battle. The two goals by Andrej Kramaric (11th, 90th + 4) did not change that. The 23,159 spectators in Sinsheim saw the first few minutes mixed up. Neither team did anything constructive. Bad passes and misunderstandings shaped what happened. The first successful action of the game gave Hoffenheim the lead through Kramaric after preparatory work by Angelino.

After falling behind, Stuttgart, who scored a point in Labbadia’s debut last Saturday against FSV Mainz 05 (1-1), tried to gain more control. The guests, who were missing Borna Sosa and Dan-Axel Zagadou, did not succeed on the offensive. Even after 25 minutes, the VfB fans who had traveled with them still hadn’t seen their team stand a chance. Hoffenheim, who had to do without Grischa Prömel, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Dennis Geiger and the suspended Ozan Kabak, had the game under control without much effort.

The lack of consistency from the hosts in the game kept VfB in the encounter. In the stoppage time of the first half, Stuttgart woke up from their lethargy. Silas Katompa Mvumpa created VfB’s first chance (45’+1′), Guirassy equalized shortly afterwards. Both teams struggled with injuries early in the second half. The battered TSG defense chief Kevin Vogt stayed in the dressing room, his Stuttgart counterpart Konstantinos Mavropanos had to be treated for a laceration on his head for a long time. In the majority, Hoffenheim almost took the lead through Christoph Baumgartner (51st).