FIRST TEAM
09/01/2018

Szalai fires TSG to victory

TSG Hoffenheim have come from behind against SC Freiburg to win their first home game of the Bundesliga season 3-1. Adam Szalai's second-half brace set the home side on the path to victory, with Andrej Kramaric adding a third goal in the fifth minute of stoppage-time to wrap up the points. However, the win was overshadowed by injuries to Ermin Bicakcic, Kasim Adams and Kevin Akpoguma.

Personnel and tactics

Coach Julian Nagelsmann opted for the same 3-5-2 formation he had deployed against Bayern on the opening day but made one personnel change, with Steven Zuber replacing Vincenzo Grifo. Ermin Bicakcic, Kevin Vogt and Kasim Adams formed the back three ahead of shot-stopper Oliver Baumann, with Pavel Kaderabek and Nico Schulz occupying the wide berths. Florian Grillitsch, Leonardo Bittencourt and Zuber lined up in the three midfield positions, while Joelinton and Adam Szalai again started as the forward partnership.

But in a game that proved to be intense from the off, Nagelsmann was forced into making an early personnel change when right-sided centre-back Ermin Bicakcic sustained an injury to his right foot and was unable to continue. He was replaced by Kevin Akpoguma, but Hoffenheim's bad luck continued as Kasim Adams became the next defender to be substituted following a tough tackle on the stroke of half-time. Andrej Kramaric came on in his stead, prompting a tactical change as the hosts transitioned into a 4-3-3 system. The third and final change after the break was another prompted by injury, with Akpoguma, who himself had only come on as a substitute to replace Bicakcic, becoming the third defender to depart the pitch prematurely following an aerial collision with a Freiburg player. He received treatment for a head wound for some time before being replaced by Havard Nordtveit.

Moment of the match

It was not until the 95th minute, when TSG extended their lead to 3-1 moments after Freiburg had almost levelled from a corner, that they could breathe a sigh of relief. Bittencourt played the ball deep into the opposition half and, with goalkeeper Schwolow racing back after going up for the corner, Kramaric got to the ball first and slotted it into an empty net.

Number of the game: 3

Adam Szalai has scored three goals in his opening two matches of the season and made a decisive contribution to picking up the first three points of the season today.

Match facts and statistics »

Download Now!
Print Page to top