Pierre-Michel Lasogga’s goal gave Hamburg their fourth victory of the season to kick start Matchday 10 of the Bundesliga. The former Germany U21 scored the only goal of the day in the 88th minute away to 1899 Hoffenheim.
After only just avoiding the first relegation of the club’s history last season, HSV – now with 14 points on the board – have managed to close the gap on the teams in contention for the Europa League spot. Their rivals can however pull away again over the course of the weekend. For TSG Hoffenheim, alarm bells must be ringing. Six points from ten games with only one win on the board is their worst Bundesliga start in the club’s history and has left Markus Gisdol’s side in 17th place, second from bottom. "We’re deflated, conceded another late goal. Then you start looking for an explanation," said TSG-captain Pirmin Schwegler.
HSV pass up their best chances at the start
The 30,000 spectators in the Rhein-Neckar-Arena witnessed a far superior Hamburg side over the course of the match and the decline of the last few weeks did not fail to leave its mark on the hosts, despite the fact that the away side had to go without Emir Spahic, Ivica Olic, Gojko Kacar and Aaron Hunt. Ivo Ilicevic had the first opportunity in the 16th for HSV.
Shortly after that, Michael Gregoritsch passed up the chance to head the guests into the lead, and seconds later, Ilicevic couldn’t quite get on the end of a cross from Lasogga. In the 23rd minute, Nicolai Müller and Lasogga both failed to score a double chance, despite having deserved to take the lead. "We must continue to play nice football," said Bruno Labbadia.
Shortly after the break, it was Gregoritsch again who came close for the away team, as an HSV goal became a question of when rather than if. The Hoffenheim defence looked to be at breaking point, and Volland seemed to be offering very little up front. Towards the end of the match, it got even worse for Hoffenheim as Jeremy Toljan created a very good chance for HSV, which Lasogga scored, sealing the victory for Hamburg, securing defeat for Hoffenheim.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga’s goal gave Hamburg their fourth victory of the season to kick start Matchday 10 of the Bundesliga. The former Germany U21 scored the only goal of the day in the 88th minute away to 1899 Hoffenheim.
After only just avoiding the first relegation of the club’s history last season, HSV – now with 14 points on the board – have managed to close the gap on the teams in contention for the Europa League spot. Their rivals can however pull away again over the course of the weekend. For TSG Hoffenheim, alarm bells must be ringing. Six points from ten games with only one win on the board is their worst Bundesliga start in the club’s history and has left Markus Gisdol’s side in 17th place, second from bottom. "We’re deflated, conceded another late goal. Then you start looking for an explanation," said TSG-captain Pirmin Schwegler.
HSV pass up their best chances at the start
The 30,000 spectators in the Rhein-Neckar-Arena witnessed a far superior Hamburg side over the course of the match and the decline of the last few weeks did not fail to leave its mark on the hosts, despite the fact that the away side had to go without Emir Spahic, Ivica Olic, Gojko Kacar and Aaron Hunt. Ivo Ilicevic had the first opportunity in the 16th for HSV.
Shortly after that, Michael Gregoritsch passed up the chance to head the guests into the lead, and seconds later, Ilicevic couldn’t quite get on the end of a cross from Lasogga. In the 23rd minute, Nicolai Müller and Lasogga both failed to score a double chance, despite having deserved to take the lead. "We must continue to play nice football," said Bruno Labbadia.
Shortly after the break, it was Gregoritsch again who came close for the away team, as an HSV goal became a question of when rather than if. The Hoffenheim defence looked to be at breaking point, and Volland seemed to be offering very little up front. Towards the end of the match, it got even worse for Hoffenheim as Jeremy Toljan created a very good chance for HSV, which Lasogga scored, sealing the victory for Hamburg, securing defeat for Hoffenheim.
