FIRST TEAM
12/11/2020

Full-time in the Europa League - the facts from Matchday 6

On the morning after each of our European matches this season, tsg-hoffenheim.de will publish a round-up with the most important match facts, the press reactions and an overview of the group.

Match facts:

As in the previous fixture, TSG Hoffenheim defeated KAA Gent 4-1. It was a well-deserved and comfortable win, as attested to by TSG's 63% possession and 14 shots on goal to Gent's nine. Robert Skov and Maximilian Beier scored their first-ever goals in Europe for the club. What is more, two more players - Philipp Pentke and Alfons Amade - made their debut appearances in the Europa League.

TSG's group-stage points tally of 16 is the second highest for a German club in Europa League history, bettered only by Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2018/19 season (18 points). The only team in this year's edition of the competition to notch up a greater number of points is Arsenal (18 points). 

The man of the match:

Maximilian Beier, who scored his first two goals for TSG Hoffenheim at senior level. The 18-year-old got lucky for the first one: his initial header was blocked, but then an attempted clearance deflected back off Beier's and into the back of the net. Regardless of how it was scored, the goal meant Beier became the youngest-ever Hoffenheim goalscorer in European competition. The youngster's second goal, which brought the score to 3-0, came from a spectacular effort from 30 metres out. What is more, he provided an eye-catching assist for the fourth goal, scored by Andrej Kramarić. Beier's impressive performance didn't go unnoticed: the 18-year-old was nominated for the Europa League ''Player of the Week'' and named in ''Team of the Week'' by UEFA.

The quote of the evening:

Philipp Pentke: ''It feels very good to make your debut in the Europa League. Of course I'm annoyed about the goal we conceded, but the most important thing is that we managed to win and go undefeated in the group stage. You could see the character and morale we have in the team.''

Press reactions:

BILD: ''Hoffenheim celebrate young Beier''

Kicker: ''The evening belongs to youngster Beier''

Heilbronner Stimme: ''Youthful adventure in Sinsheim''

Group L at a glance:

The standings in Group L were already set in stone going into the final matchday, so the 0-0 draw between Slovan Liberec and Red Star Belgrade was something of a dead rubber. TSG won the group with 16 points, ahead of Belgrade (11), Liberece (7) and Gent (0).

Match facts and statistics »

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