Two games, two defeats and a growing sense of pressure: that was Hoffenheim’s Europa League record before Thursday night. Ninety minutes later the mood in Sinsheim had changed completely. Christian Ilzer’s side swept aside Olympique Lyon, currently top of the French league, 3-0 to claim their first points of the league phase, with veteran forward Andrej Kramaric at the centre of almost everything.
It took a while to get going. Both teams gave the ball away cheaply in a scrappy opening, before Hoffenheim slowly took charge, with Alexander Prass and Bambasé Conté driving them on. Goalkeeper Dominik Greif kept out a Robin Hranac header, but Lyon actually came closest to scoring first when Kail Boudache raced clear and was denied by a sharp save from Oliver Baumann. A long stoppage for an injury to Lyon’s Steeve Kango meant eight added minutes, and in the fifth of them Kramaric struck, nodding a loose ball over Greif at the second attempt after a long throw from Vladimir Coufal. It was his first goal of the season in any competition.
The hosts doubled the lead early in the second half. Winning possession high up the pitch, they found Kramaric, who slipped a pass through for Adam Daghim to roll home. Lyon, perhaps with one eye on their weekend summit meeting with Paris Saint-Germain, offered little in response, and substitute Adam Hlozek wrapped things up on 83 minutes by curling a shot into the corner.
The result lifts Hoffenheim to 23rd in the 36-team table and keeps a play-off place within reach. It is also their second straight win after a run of four defeats in all competitions. Next up in Europe is a trip to Crystal Palace on 5 November.
