As of: November 7th, 2024 11:21 p.m
On the fourth matchday of the Europa League, TSG Hoffenheim and Olympique Lyon delivered a wild final phase.
TSG coach Pellegrino Matarazzo had previously described the Europa League game against Olympique Lyon as a “special game”, but the Kraichgauer team couldn’t really get rid of their Bundesliga frustration. After the game, the Hoffenheim team were still satisfied.
First, Valentin Gendrey gave TSG the lead (47th minute), then the guests turned the game around with goals from Abner Vinicius (66th) and Alexandre Lacazette (90th + 3). In the last minute, Umut Tohumcu secured a draw for TSG (90+5). Coach Matarazzo summed up after the game on RTL: “We had a good first half in which we can take the lead.” There were also chances to take a 2-0 lead in the second half. Matarazzo praised his team’s morale in the final phase: “That shows the character of my team.”
First half: TSG’s shots on goal were too harmless
After the Bundesliga defeat against FC St. Pauli, Kevin Akpoguma, Max Moerstedt and Umut Tohumcu replaced Stanley Nsoki, Marius Bülter and Adam Hložek in the starting eleven. Lyon coach Pierre Sage changed his starting lineup to ten positions compared to the league game. Only defender Duje Ćaleta-Car started the 1-1 draw in Ligue 1 against Lille.
Hoffenheim’s first chance to score came from Andrej Kramarić in the 11th minute. However, Ćaleta-Car cleared his shot into the empty goal. Hoffenheim’s high pressing led to several shots on goal in the early stages – including by Umut Tohumcu, Anton Stach and Tom Bischof. However, all shots on goal resulted in nothing countable. After 20 minutes, Max Moerstedt had to leave the pitch injured for a short time after colliding with the southern French keeper Rémy Descamps and defender Clinton Mata.
Hoffenheim cannot take advantage of French mistakes
Hoffenheim was unable to take advantage of the guests’ small mistakes and ball losses in front of the approximately 18,000 spectators in the Sinsheim stadium. In the transition game there was a lack of speed and a consistent move towards the goal. For example, in the 33rd minute: Because no teammate was running, Kramarić stopped his attack after winning the ball on the right side. Shortly before the break it was Kramarić again who shot towards the goal from his right after a pass from Bischof. Guest goalkeeper Descamps just got to the ball and cleared it for a corner.
TSG lead immediately after half-time
In the 47th minute, the Kraichgauer team finally took full advantage of a loss of the ball by Olympique Lyon. Bischof stormed into the penalty area and passed to Valentin Gendrey, who was running along, who placed the ball in the bottom left corner. A little later, the hosts had a good opportunity to extend their lead: Max Moerstedt aimed at the far corner again, but the ball went just wide.
The French game then became more powerful and consequently the guests were rewarded with the equalizer by Abner Vinicius in the 66th minute. First, Hoffenheim’s Kevin Akpoguma was able to block a shot from substitute Alexandre Lacazette. But then 24-year-old Vinicius got the ball and shot the ball unstoppably into the TSG goal.
Final phase with two goals in stoppage time
In the final phase, Hoffenheim still had a chance to score: After Anton Stach’s shot was blocked, Lyon’s goalkeeper allowed Florian Grillitsch’s follow-up shot to rebound, who also had the upper hand in the second attempt against TSG striker Haris Tabakovic. Instead, Alexandre Lacazette scored to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. But the Kraichgauers struck again and saved the point through Umut Tohumcu (90.+5). Hoffenheim’s Florian Grillitsch was satisfied with the 2-2 draw in an RTL interview after the game: “We earned the point and defended it well. The point is deserved.”
Matchday 5 of the Europa League will take place on November 28th. Then TSG Hoffenheim will be guests at Sporting Braga (SC Braga) in Portugal. After the 2-0 defeat against newly promoted FC St. Pauli last weekend, the Kraichgauer team continues in the Bundesliga against FC Augsburg next Sunday (3:30 p.m./audio stream on sportschau.de).
Broadcast on Friday, November 8th, 2024 6:00 a.m., SWR Aktuell in the morning, SWR Aktuell
