TSG 1899 Hoffenheim failed to win an away game in the Bundesliga for the first time this season. Meanwhile, FC Augsburg remains unbeaten after the 1-1 (0-1) draw on Saturday (November 11th, 2023) under coach Jess Thorup.
When Augsburg and Hoffenheim meet, it may not sound particularly sexy – but the two teams are, in a sense, one of the teams that currently have a lot to offer. Hoffenheim had previously been the only team to win all five away games, scoring three goals four times. And Augsburg took seven out of nine possible points under new coach Jess Thorup, and the goal difference of 9:5 also speaks for a certain degree of spectacle.
Weghorst improves on Hoffenheim’s strong start
In the last three games, this also meant that Augsburg had been behind every time – and that was the case this time too against Hoffenheim. TSG put the hosts under enormous pressure in the early stages and wasted good chances through Marius Bülter (13′) and Anton Stach (21′) before Wout Weghorst took the lead (23′). After a cross from Bülter, the Dutchman was there and was able to head in completely freely from three meters. Weghorst scored in the third game in a row.
However, very little came from Augsburg afterwards. There was brief excitement after referee Felix Brych awarded FCA a penalty for a handball by Kevin Akpoguma – but the video images clearly showed that the defender did not play the ball with his arm, but with his chest and face. Otherwise little to nothing happened until half-time.
Augsburg’s Demirovic does it on his own
But there was even more to come from Augsburg at the start of the second half – especially from Emerdin Demirovic. The captain equalized with an energetic performance. Demirovic beat four Hoffenheim players and curled the ball into the far corner to make it 1-1 (53′). And so Augsburg, who had scored 20 goals for the first time in the Bundesliga after eleven games, came back for the fourth time in the fourth game under Thorup – at least for the time being.
Shortly afterwards, Maximilian Beier had a great opportunity to take the TSG lead again. After a solo, he appeared free in front of Finn Dahmen, who spread himself so wide that the U21 international could no longer get the ball past the goalkeeper (55th).
Firecracker throwing causes interruption and injury
After that, the sporting events took a back seat. The game was interrupted after a firecracker was thrown. A firecracker detonated in the Hoffenheim block and injured a fan, who had to be treated by paramedics and transported from the stadium. The game continued after seven minutes and the fire department reported that the fan had suffered a blast.
The events on the pitch also suffered from this incident. The flow of the game that had previously developed was gone, and both teams were no longer able to put themselves into the spotlight offensively. The result lasted until the final phase of the regular 90 minutes – although the teams also had the certainty that the firecrackers would throw a long injury time.
Michel misses victory for Augsburg
But very little came from Hoffenheim in particular. And so TSG’s streak ended, as they had to give up points in a foreign stadium for the first time. Meanwhile, the series held up for Augsburg, who fell behind every time under Thorup, but are still unbeaten. Sven Michel even missed the chance to score the winning goal (90+8).
Augsburg against Union, TSG meets Mainz
The Fuggerstadt team will face Union Berlin away next matchday (Saturday, November 25th, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). A day later, Hoffemheim hosts FSV Mainz (5:30 p.m.).