Hoffenheim Holds Off Bayern As 10-man Dortmund Falters; Stuttgart
Premier League leaders Benjamin Pavard gave Bayern the lead in the first half, but Hoffenheim levelled via an Andrej Kramaric free-kick in the second, forcing Bayern to settle for a draw.
On Saturday, after blowing a two-goal lead against 10-man Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund could not capitalize on Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw at home against Hoffenheim.
Instead, they let a last-second equalizer happen.
Premier League leaders Benjamin Pavard gave Bayern the lead in the first half, but Hoffenheim levelled via an Andrej Kramaric free-kick in the second, forcing Bayern to settle for a draw.
Konstantinos Mavropanos’ second caution cost Dortmund a 2-0 lead in Stuttgart, but the home team rallied to tie the game in a thrilling finale.
Three minutes into added time, Gio Reyna gave Dortmund the lead again, but Silas scored for Stuttgart to steal a 3-3 tie three minutes later.
With six games remaining, the results put Bayern two points ahead of Dortmund in the standings.
Following a turbulent week, Leroy Sane of Bayern entered their encounter with a mark on his top lip from an altercation with Sadio Mane, for which the latter was suspended.
After 17 minutes, Pavard scored his team’s first goal by tapping the ball from close range.
Coach Thomas Tuchel substituted Sane, Leon Goretzka, and Kingsley Coman with Bayern in cruise control in preparation for Wednesday’s second leg against Manchester City.
Kramaric’s stunning free shot from outside the area past Yann Sommer gave Hoffenheim the lead and an equalizer after 71 minutes.
Following City’s 3-0 thrashing, Tuchel expressed dismay at his team’s weak response.
“I thought we’d play with anger in the belly. That was not the case…
“We need a different spirit – and quickly.”
– Dortmund’s ‘stupid’ collapse –
Thomas Tuchel
Source: www.sportsyahoo.com
In response to a cross from Donyell Malen, Sebastien Haller of Dortmund, scored the game’s opening goal at Stuttgart midway through the first half.
A few minutes later, Malen increased the visitors’ advantage by gliding a low shot into the back of the net, giving him a goal in each of his previous four games.
When Mavropanos was dismissed towards the end of the first half, Stuttgart was down a player but still made progress.
With 12 minutes left, Stuttgart’s Tanguy Coulibaly scored a goal against a nervous-looking Dortmund.
A few minutes later, Josha Vagnoman scored for Stuttgart to tie the game. He did it in a packed penalty area.
Silas scored an equalizer in the 97th minute to lift Stuttgart back out of the bottom two. Dortmund felt Reyna had won them the game, but the drama wasn’t finished.
The result was worse than Dortmund’s early-season 3-2 home loss to Werder Bremen, where they led 2-0 with one minute remaining, according to Coach Edin Terzic, who said, “It was hard to find words.”
“We thought we’d already seen the stupidest thing this season after our late defeat against Bremen at home, but this tops everything.” “We missed a huge chance.”
Edin Terzic
In the late game on Saturday, Eintracht Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani equalized Jonas Hofmann’s opening goal in the closing ten minutes to rescue a 1-1 draw for the home team against Borussia Monchengladbach.
The draw keeps Gladbach firmly in mid-table while dropping the Europa League champions to sixth, one point outside the European positions.
Timo Werner’s two goals helped RB Leipzig defeat Augsburg 3-2 at home, keeping their hopes of playing in the Champions League alive.
Leipzig overtook Union Berlin for third place after winning their first game at home since early March.
Away to Cologne, Mainz, and the score drew 1-1. Ludovic Ajorque, a French striker with four goals in five league games for Mainz, gave the visitors an early advantage. Still, Dejan Ljubicic gave Cologne the equalizer and a crucial point.
The images used in the article are grabbed from the video.
