The Kraichgauer landed their second success in a row, in the fight for the Champions League, the team of coach Sebastian Hoeneß passed RB Leipzig, at least temporarily.
VfL Wolfsburg’s race to catch up, on the other hand, has been stopped for the time being. After the last two victories, the “Wolves” suffered a setback in the fight for relegation.
Wolfsburg set the tone at the beginning
Both teams played a lively game in front of 7,145 spectators in Wolfsburg, in which the hosts initially set the tone. The team of coach Florian Kohfeldt started with a lot of speed.
Although Kruse and Co. reaped little in the form of goal chances, despite great effort and a lot of ball possession, the lead ten minutes before the break was deserved thanks to a remarkable flick from new signing Wind.
The Hoffenheim team, in which top attacker Andrej Kramaric was able to play again after his second corona infection, acted surprisingly passively. Hardly anything went forward from the game in the first section.
Hoffenheim in the second section with more train
In the second half, the guests then took over the command. Wolfsburg now let themselves be pushed far into their own half – and were punished twice in the final phase.
First Bruun Larsen scored with a side kick from five yards out, then Kramaric pushed Bruun Larsen’s cross over the line from close range. Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann thwarted the greatest VfL chance to equalize when he parried a wind header (81st).
South duel between Stuttgart and Hoffenheim is pending
Wolfsburg have a guest appearance in Mönchengladbach next week on Saturday (February 26th, 2022), Sebastian Hoeneß’s eleven hosted VfB Stuttgart the day before.