Hoffenheim duped
Win against top team: St. Pauli surprises in Sinsheim
02/28/2026 – 5:32 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
FC St. Pauli continues its upward trend. The Kiezkickers won quite surprisingly at TSG Hoffenheim. The decisive goal comes in the first half.
TSG Hoffenheim’s record streak in the Bundesliga was broken after 148 days. The Kraichgauer lost to the passionately fighting relegation candidate FC St Pauli with 0:1 (0:1) and were unable to further extend the club’s record of eight home wins in a row. Despite the setback, Christian Ilzer’s team remains on course for the Champions League in third place with 46 points.
Despite their superiority, TSG was unable to find an answer to the deficit through Mathias Pereira Lage (45th + 4). The last time there was no win at home was on October 3, 2025 against Cologne (0-1). After the big points against Bremen the previous week, St. Pauli continued its upward trend and climbed back into a non-relegation spot after a long time. After eleven unsuccessful attempts, they managed to score three points away from home again; it was only the second away win of the season.
Fisnik Asllani (4th), Grischa Prömel (8th) and twice Andrej Kramaric (8th, 9th) missed the early lead. After the fireworks of opportunities, the pressure eased significantly, but St. Pauli invited the TSG several times with major defensive mistakes: Robin Hranac (26th) and Prömel (28th) did not accept the gifts and were each denied by Nikola Vasilj. Towards the end of the first half, Hamburg became more courageous and created a few opportunities.
Finally, seconds before the half-time whistle, a perfect counterattack was achieved, at the end of which Pereira Lage nodded in a cross from Manolis Saliakas. After the break, Hoffenheim struggled to find an answer, but the second-best offense in the league initially had little to think of. The TSG combined nicely around the penalty area, but apart from a header from Bazoumana Touré (65′), there was hardly any threat of scoring.
It was only in the final phase that Hoffenheim became more compelling, but Vasilj directed Ozan Kabak’s header onto the crossbar with a great reflex (80′).
