In the seventh matchday of the UEFA Europa League group stage, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim lost 2-3 to Tottenham Hotspur in Sinsheim. The English visitors dominated the game from the start, scoring their first goal in the third minute. Pedro Porro’s long pass found Maddison, who shot from the right side of the penalty area and scored.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 22nd minute, as an ex-Hamburger player, now playing for Tottenham, shot from the left side of the penalty area and scored with the help of a defender’s deflection.
Hoffenheim seemed to wake up in the 33rd minute, as Bischof shot from 13 meters out, but was unable to beat the on-guard goalkeeper Austin. Bergvall missed a great chance in the 45th minute, as his header from three meters out was saved by Baumann.
At halftime, Tottenham was deservedly in the lead, but Hoffenheim did not give up. Kramaric scored a goal in the 55th minute, heading in a cross from the right side, and Bischof missed another chance in the 60th minute, this time just missing the top right corner.
The Londoners seemed to relax, and Hoffenheim took advantage of this in the 68th minute, as Jursek’s pass from the left side found Stach, who scored from the bottom right corner.
Tottenham restored their two-goal lead in the 77th minute, as Son scored from the left side of the penalty area and shot the ball in the long corner of the net.
Despite being two goals down, Hoffenheim did not give up and came close in the 88th minute, as Mokwa, who had been substituted in, headed in a cross from the right side and scored in the bottom right corner. However, the goal came too late, and the match ended in a 2-3 loss for Hoffenheim.
With this defeat, Hoffenheim slipped to 28th place in the table and must win their next match against Anderlecht to stay in the running for the playoffs.