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TSG win group after draw in Belgrade
Personnel & tactics:
18-year-old Marco John made his debut appearance for TSG Hoffenheim, starting on the left wing. The three-man defensive line in front of goalkeeper Oliver Baumann was made up of Håvard Nordtveit, Kevin Vogt and Melayro Bogarde. Robert Skov lined up on the right wing. The midfield was composed of Sebastian Rudy and Dennis Geiger. The offensive trio of Mijat Gaćinović, João Klauss and Munas Dabbur were tasked with getting the goals.
Coach Sebastian Hoeness made one change at half-time: on came Andrej Kramarić to replace Dabbur. In the 58th minute, Florian Grillitsch entered the action in place of Geiger. Hoeness opted for a double substitution in the 72nd minute: Christoph Baumgartner and Kasim Adams came on for Gaćinović and Rudy, with Bogarde moving into midfield to accommodate the change. Ryan Sessegnon replaced Skov on the right wing for the closing minutes (89th minute).
Moment of the match:
20:46 CET, the final whistle: TSG Hoffenheim's status as group winners was confirmed. Coach Sebastian Hoeness's side will thus find themselves in Pot One for the draw on 14 December.
Number of the game: 0
TSG Hoffenheim failed to score for the first time in Europe. Prior to tonight, TSG had scored in all 18 of their matches in European competition.
Line-ups:
Red Star Belgrade: Borjan – Pankov, Milunovic, Degenek – Gajic, Sanogo, Spiridonovic (46, Vukanovic) – Petrovic, Kanga (81, Nikolic) – Ben (81, Erakovic), Facinelli (89, Boakye)
TSG Hoffenheim: Baumann – Bogarde, Vogt, Nordtveit – Skov (89, Sessegnon), Geiger (58, Grillitsch), Rudy (72, Adams), John – Gaćinović (72, Baumgartner), Klauss, Dabbur (46, Kramarić)
Match highlights
The biggest chance of the match so far: Geiger finds Dabbur in space in the box. The striker receives the ball on the left, drives into the middle and unleashes a shot on goal. Borjan does well to get his hand up and make the save.
TSG's best attack of the game goes unrewarded just before the break: a nice piece of combination play in the box ends with Gacinovic dribbling past a defender and finding himself one-on-one with Borjan. He shoots, but it's a poor effort. That was the chance to make it 1-0.
A brilliant attack from TSG. Bogard dribbles into the area and slips the ball to Kramarić. The Croatian plays it on to Gaćinović, who then squares it to Klauss, whose shot on goal is blocked thanks to some last-ditch defending. Skov then tries his luck from distance, forcing Borjan into a decent save.
A rebound falls to Skov in the box, who fires a dangerous shot with his left foot. An excellent save from Borjan, who extends himself and palms the ball to safety to prevent Hoffenheim from taking the lead.
The ball lands at Klauss's feet after a free-kick. He fires off a quick shot, but Borjan does well to get down and make the save.
Match facts and statistics »
