Ryan Sessegnon and Andrej Kramaric help Hoffenheim turn tables on Borussia Mönchengladbach
Ryan Sessegnon and Andrej Kramaric scored second-half goals as Hoffenheim came from behind to beat Borussia Mönchengladbach, who had Marcus Thuram sent off.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-2 Hoffenheim
Goals: 1-0 Stindl (pen. 34'), 1-1 Kramaric (75'), 1-2 Sessegnon (85')
Red card: Thuram (78')
There was no shortage of chances in an open first half of end-to-end football. Hoffenheim came close to landing the first blow, but the returning Florian Grillitsch was unable to direct Ishak Belfodil's near-post cross on target. Breel Embolo followed suit from a similar position for Gladbach, before Dennis Geiger's 18-yard curler brought a routine save from Yann Sommer at the other end. Borussia captain Lars Stindl almost served up a carbon copy of one of his three goals against Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek with a devilish free-kick that sailed just past the upright as the hosts turned the screw, with Embolo slotting wide when clean through on Oliver Baumann's goal moments later. The Foals eventually forged ahead through Stindl's penalty, after Geiger had upended France international Thuram. Hoffenheim's response was immediate, but Kramaric's thunderous strike from range came back off the bar.
The game followed a similar pattern after the restart as Stindl drove low and hard at Baumann. Sommer had to be alert to Christoph Baumgartner's close-range attempt from a corner, and was called on once again in the 65th minute to thwart Grillitsch, who was unable to make a full connection with Stefan Posch's chipped pass into the area. Kramaric did with his first opening of the half to bring Hoffenheim level. The Croatia international was left all alone to volley in from the penalty spot following a superb run and cross from substitute Ihlas Bebou. It got worse for Gladbach as Thuram received his marching orders for an off-the-ball incident involving Posch, with Hoffenheim completing the turnaround late on. Kevin Akpoguma's cross was flicked on by Sargis Adamyan, allowing Tottenham Hotspur loanee Sessegnon to fire home his second Bundesliga goal and end Gladbach's unbeaten home start to the season.
Match stats
- Kramaric scored his eighth goal of the season. Historically only Vedad Ibisevic registered more Bundesliga goals for Hoffenheim after 13 matches of a season (14, 2008/09).
- The Hoffenheim talisman had not scored in four games, having hit 12 across his previous six league outings.
- Stindl scored his eighth Bundesliga goal of the season, but first on home soil.
- The Gladbach skipper has opened the scoring a league-high four times this season.
- Borussia have won more penalties that any other Bundesliga team in 2020/21 (six).
- The Foals are winless in four league matches.
Watch: Sessegnon: "I'm happy I scored the winner"
Line-ups
Gladbach: Sommer - Lainer, Ginter, Elvedi, Lazaro - Kramer, Neuhaus (Zakaria 83') - Herrmann (Wolf 74'), Stindl (c) (Traore 88'), Thuram - Embolo
Unused subs: Sippel, Lang, Wendt, Benes, Jantschke, Poulsen
Out: Bensebaini (not included), Hofmann (thigh), Plea (knee)
Coach: Marco Rose
Hoffenheim: Baumann (c) - Posch (Akpoguma 79'), Vogt, Nordtveit, Sessegnon - Geiger (Rudy 46'), Grillitsch (Adamyan 85'), Baumgartner - Skov (Dabbur 71') - Belfodil (Bebou 71'), Kramaric
Unused subs: Pentke, Adams, Gacinovic, Bogarde
Out: Bicakcic (knee), Bruun Larsen (not included), Hübner (ankle), Kaderabek (muscular), Samassekou (knock), Stafylidis (shoulder)
Coach: Sebastian Hoeneß
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