Europa League: First European defeat – Hoffenheim loses 0-2 in Porto

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim suffered their first defeat in the newly reformed Europa League. The current table 14th. The Bundesliga lost to Portuguese cup winners FC Porto 0-2 (0-1) despite a decent performance. At the Estádio do Dragão, the Kraichgau team initially played on an equal footing before the effective Portuguese made merciless use of their chances.

Tiago Djaló (45th + 2 minutes) and attacker Samu (75th) scored the goals for the former Champions League winners. In the European Cup season so far, TSG drew 1-1 at Danish club FC Midtjylland and 2-0 against Dynamo Kiev.

The Hoffenheim team started in the far west of Europe in the unusually striking yellow kit. The Southwest Club was just as noticeable. Jacob Bruun Larsen (12th) and Adam Hlozek (19th) had promising opportunities – but they didn’t go to the hosts’ goal. Compared to the 3-1 win against VfL Bochum at the weekend, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo brought on Larsen for the ailing Marius Bülter.

The Czech Hlozek missed the 1-0 just before half-time (44th) when he maneuvered the ball over the goal when he was free in front of the opposing goalkeeper. TSG actually had the game under control. Porto, previously praised by the Kraichgau team as a club with Champions League qualities, remained surprisingly passive for a long time. The offensive trio around the promising young player Samu, who are accurate in the Portuguese league, had a hard time dealing with the guests’ defense. But shortly before the break, the Portuguese took a surprising and, above all, flattering lead thanks to a powerful shot from Djalo.

Coach Matarazzo had already pointed out before the game that there were phases in the 2004 Champions League winner’s game when they were “vulnerable”. However, TSG remained too harmless to “hurt the opponent” as the coach wanted.

But the home team limited themselves to “hurting”. Porto’s new signing Samu increased the score to 2-0 with the passive support of the TSG defense. Anton Stach in particular favored the 20-year-old’s goal, which dashed Hoffenheim’s hopes of a surprising away win.

Heidenheim remains on the road to success

1. FC Heidenheim continues its European adventure with maximum success. The Bundesliga team also won the second game in the Conference League, beating Pafos FC in Cyprus 1-0 (1-0). Captain Patrick Mainka (25th minute) scored the goal for coach Frank Schmidt’s team in Limassol. After the second win in the second game, FCH is currently in the top half of the league table.

As previously announced, FCH coach Schmidt made a lot of changes to his starting eleven compared to the recent 2-3 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The coach made seven changes, including Niklas Dorsch and Sirlord Conteh in the starting line-up – and it paid off. After almost half an hour, Conteh crossed the ball into the penalty area, where defender Mainka took the lead in a technically sophisticated striker style.

To a certain extent, the 1-0 score fit into the picture, as the Heidenheim team had gotten better and better into the game over the course of the first half. Just three minutes before the opening goal, Mikkel Kaufmann, who was also rotated into the starting line-up, hit the crossbar. On the other hand, the hosts, who came with numerous legionnaires, initially remained largely harmless.

Despite the strain of travel, FCH coach Schmidt emphasized that every game in the European Cup was something special for FCH. Accordingly, the Swabians gave their all again in Cyprus, even if the game slowed down a bit after the break. The hosts, who had also won their opening game in the Conference League, initially started a phase of pressure. Thanks to consistent defensive work, Heidenheim was initially able to contain the opponent’s offensive efforts.

Nevertheless, Pafos continued to try, but the determination was often lacking, which is why Heidenheim was no longer really in danger. Shortly before the final whistle, Heidenheim’s Adrian Beck (90th + 1) actually had a great chance to make it 2-0, but his shot went clearly over from close range.

Eintracht wins the Europa League with a late goal

Eintracht Frankfurt had a lackluster win in the Europa League. The Bundesliga soccer team defeated the Latvian champions FK Rigas Futbola Skola 1-0 (0-0). Substitute Hugo Larsson scored the winning goal in front of 56,600 spectators (79th minute) in what was largely a staid performance for Eintracht.

The Frankfurt team have thus created a good starting position for the rest of the league phase in the Europa League. With two wins and one draw from the first three games, the SGE is in the top group.

Eintracht coach Dino Toppmöller had warned his team before the encounter. Riga has “very robust defenders, very tall defenders,” said the coach. And initially there was no way through against Riga’s well-positioned defense. The SGE struggled to create opportunities in the first half. There was a lack of speed, ideas and impact.

The guests had their first chance through Adam Markhiyev, whose shot from a tight angle just missed the goal (15th). In return, Omar Marmoush was denied by Riga keeper Fabrice Ondoa in a one-on-one. Toppmöller made four changes compared to the 1-2 loss at Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Among other things, young star Can Uzun made his starting eleven debut for Frankfurt. But neither the lineup of 18-year-old Uzun, who moved from second division club 1. FC Nürnberg to Hessen in the summer, nor the other changes had the desired positive effect.

A finish from Croatian striker Igor Matanovic, who was also a new starter, didn’t change that. The national player’s attempt from a distance whizzed just past the right goal (33′). In response to their team’s poor performance, the Eintracht supporters whistled a few times at half-time. Toppmöller also couldn’t be satisfied with his team’s performance. He brought on the eventual goalscorer Larsson for Mo Dahoud in the second half and obviously found the right approach in the dressing room.

The SGE now played much more powerfully. Tuta made it 1-0, but his goal didn’t count due to an offside position (48′). Marmoush and Niels Nkounkou also aimed just past the visitors’ goal (52nd/53rd). On the left side, Nkounkou made a huge effort in a clearance attempt, so that Roberts Savalnieks appeared alone in front of Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. However, the 34-year-old parried the Latvian’s shot strongly (58th).

After a foul on Marmoush, the Dutch referee Allard Lindhout initially awarded a penalty for the hosts. After checking the video images, the referee withdrew the penalty because the foul occurred outside the penalty area.

In the final phase, Larsson redeemed Eintracht with a 1-0 lead. In direct response, SGE were lucky not to concede the equalizer when Markhiyev hit the crossbar with a powerful shot.