Last minute draw against Leipzig
Hoffenheim avoids a bitter Europa League setback
May 3, 2024, 10:24 p.m
At the start of the 32nd Bundesliga matchday, RB Leipzig is outnumbered and close to an away win at 1899 Hoffenheim. But the Sinsheimers, who are fighting for a place in the European Cup, hit back at the last second against the Saxons, who had already qualified for the Champions League.
Later shock: RB Leipzig is standing still in the hunt for third place in the final spurt of the Bundesliga. Coach Marco Rose’s team couldn’t get more than a 1-1 (1-0) draw with favorite opponent TSG Hoffenheim and remains one point behind VfB Stuttgart with one more game. After nine games without defeat, only victories on the last two matchdays will help third place, and Borussia Dortmund could also come closer from behind.
Benjamin Sesko’s lead (38th) was not enough for the sixth competitive win in a row against Kraichgauer, after the yellow-red card for Xavi Simons (72nd), Andrej Kramaric (90th) equalized. With the point, Hoffenheim temporarily moved up to seventh place in the European Cup, but four teams could still overtake them over the course of the weekend. The dream of international business will probably also need six points from the remaining two games.
After securing their sixth Champions League participation in a row, Leipzig was happy about their planning security. While it was forbidden to let the season end, the motto was: “We have other ambitious goals and want to do the best we can,” said Rose energetically. His team got off to a lively start in front of 25,066 spectators and restricted Hoffenheim deep in their own half.
Kramaric strikes late
Lois Openda narrowly missed a first attempt from the edge of the penalty area (5th), then Simons was denied in front of the goal by Oliver Baumann, who reacted brilliantly (17th). Shortly before, the limping Xaver Schlager had to be replaced by Nicolas Seiwald; the midfielder apparently injured his knee without any outside influence (15th). After around 20 minutes, TSG was able to make the game more open and also had promising ball passages.
But without Wout Weghorst, who was missing for family reasons, there was a lack of power in the penalty area and Leipzig looked more dangerous in the final third. First Sesko put a header just wide before nodding in a measured cross from ex-Hoffenheim player David Raum with a touchdown. Baumann, who didn’t keep a clean sheet for the 27th time in a row, looked bad. On the other side, Ihlas Bebou headed TSG’s best chance into the arms of Peter Gulacsi (40′).
After the break, Kramaric appeared alone in front of the goal after a dream pass from Marius Bülter, but was also denied by Gulacsi (47′). The Kraichgauer team, where U17 world champion Maximilian Moerstedt made his debut after coming on as a substitute, now pushed vehemently for an equalizer. In the second half, Leipzig concentrated almost exclusively on defense, and this increased even further after Simons was shown a yellow-red card for foul play. Kramaric struck late.