HSV impressed again with good football against Wolfsburg, but they didn’t reward themselves for it. In the long run, the newcomer is in acute danger of relegation.
Nobody at HSV can really explain how they lost the game against Wolfsburg. There was a rousing atmosphere in the Volkspark, and the performance on the pitch was also good. Except for one crucial flaw: the guests scored the only goal of the day. Hamburg played well, convinced – and was left empty-handed again. If this becomes a habit, the season’s goal of staying in the league is in serious danger. Because: There are no points for nice games.
After the game, VfL coach Paul Simonis said openly what everyone had seen: “I know that not the best team won today.”
According to the official Bundesliga statistics it reads like this: 2.49 expected goals for HSV (Wolfsburg: 0.43), 25 completions (Wolfsburg: 5), pass rate 84 percent, eleven corners, more duels won, 59 percent ball possession. All of this led to exactly nothing.
That was also due to Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer, who missed a penalty. “We did really well. In the end we failed because of me,” he said later, visibly frustrated. The 24-year-old was still replaced with applause – after all, it wasn’t just his fault. His teammates also failed to push the ball over the line. “It is simply unbelievable that we are losing this game,” said Nicolai Remberg. It was also clear to Miro Muheim: “We were by far the better team today.”
HSV has arrived in the Bundesliga – but that’s not enough. For the fourth time in a row, the team was the better in terms of play, as before against Union Berlin, Mainz and RB Leipzig. This shows that the newcomer can keep up, has stabilized and is playing at a good Bundesliga level. In some places, HSV’s football is actually really fun.
Eight points from eight games is a stable value for a newcomer. Extrapolated that would be 34 points, and that would have always been enough to stay in the league since 2018.
The big danger now is that good performance without points creates a false sense of security. Anyone who believes that just because they play well the club will get through the season well has misunderstood the Bundesliga. Hamburg gave away four to six points against Leipzig and Wolfsburg – a cushion that they will still be missing. Because at some point there will be bad games. This is only natural, especially for a newcomer. And then it will be crucial to be able to cling to what can be counted – not to applause, scoring opportunities and the feeling that you deserved a point or more.
At HSV we know only too well how quickly a positive trend can change. That’s precisely why Polzin and his team have to do what they failed to do in Cologne on Sunday: win games. Statistics make nice reading, but if you want to keep the Bundesliga, you have to score points. Now.