Hoffenheim returned to winning ways on Sunday as a strong second-half display earned them a 3-0 victory away to a struggling Werder Bremen side.

Werder Bremen 0-3 Hoffenheim
Goals: 0-1 Klaassen (o.g. 65'), 0-2 Baumgartner (79'), 0-3 Adamyan (83')

Fixtures involving relegation-threatened teams tend to be full-blooded, gritty affairs as they look to battle their way to safety, and with Bremen in 16th place prior to kick-off, this game was no different. In among all the hefty midfield tackles, however, there were regular glimpses of quality, as the hosts had more of the ball and patiently built from the back. The closest they came to scoring in the first half, though, was a close-range Kevin Vogt header that narrowly missed the target. Hoffenheim striker Andrej Kramaric had the best chance of the first 45 minutes after being played clean through by Christoph Baumgartner, but he shot into the side netting with only Jiri Pavlenka to beat.

Roared on by the home crowd, Werder redoubled their efforts after the break and Maximilian Eggestein twice went close with shots from the edge of the box, one of which was deflected and sent a wrong-footed Philipp Pentke scurrying across his line to make a good save. The deadlock was finally broken midway through the half, but it was Hoffenheim who took the lead when a goalmouth scramble following a corner ended up with Davy Klaassen inadvertently knocking the ball into his own net. Milot Rashica fired narrowly wide at the other end with a quick riposte, but late goals from Baumgartner - with an audacious back-heeled finish - and Sargis Adamyan sealed the points for Hoffenheim, who climb up to seventh.

Match stats

• Munas Dabbur made his first Bundesliga start here after signing for Hoffenheim in the winter transfer window.
• Bremen have conceded nine goals from corners this season, far more than any other Bundesliga team. Hertha and Cologne are next on the list with five each.
• Adamyan struck his fourth goal of the season, three of which have come as a substitute.
• Baumgartner scored his second Bundesliga goal, and second away from home.
• Hoffenheim have scored in each of their last 13 Bundesliga games, of which nine saw two goals or more. Only Bayern are on a longer scoring run in the league.
• TSG have lost just one of their last eight Bundesliga away games, winning five of the last six.

Watch: Dabbur: "Happy with my starting debut"

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Line-ups

Bremen: Pavlenka - Veljkovic (Pizarro 82'), Vogt, Toprak - Bittencourt, M. Eggestein, Sahin (Bartels 66'), Klaassen (c), Friedl - Sargent (Osako 66'), Rashica
Unused subs: Kapino, Langkamp, J. Eggestein, Groß, Goller, Woltemade
Out: Augustinsson (thigh), Bargfrede (calf), Füllkrug (torn ACL), Gebre Selassie (groin), Lang (thigh), Möhwald (knee), Moisander (suspended)
Coach: Florian Kohfeldt

Hoffenheim: Pentke - Posch, Akpoguma, Hübner (c) - Kaderabek, Rudy, Grillitsch, Zuber (Bebou 73') - Dabbur (Adamyan 60'), Kramaric, Baumgartner (Samassekou 85')
Unused subs: Esser, Bicakcic, Nordtveit, Geiger, Bogarde, Locadia
Out: Baumann (knee), Belfodil (knee), Skov (unspecified)
Coach: Alfred Schreuder

Watch: Rashica: "We have the quality, but it didn't work today"

About the clubs

TSG Hoffenheim

PreZero Arena

SV Werder Bremen

Weserstadion