Guatemala
El Salvador
Line-up and squad: Ole Werner made five changes to his starting eleven from last week’s game against 1. FC Köln. With Niklas Stark, Amos Pieper and Olivier Deman all forced to sit out due to illness or injury, Naby Keïta, Justin Nijnmah and Nicolai Rapp were able to make their maiden appearances in the starting line-up this season. Marco Friedl was back sporting the captain’s armband after having missed the last fixture.
Starting XI: Pavlenka – Jung, Ducksch, Weiser, Veljkovic, Lynen, Njinmah, Keïta, Schmid, Rapp, and Friedl.
Bench: Zetterer – Stage, Kownacki, Bittencourt, Borré, Agu, Woltemade, Groß and Opitz.
A rocky start for Werder
First-half highlights
5th minute: The visitors put immediate pressure on the Green-Whites and are looking to pounce on mistakes. Werder manage to break through though – Njinmah advances from the midfield and gets a shot away, but it goes narrowly wide of the left post. A solid first chance for SVW!
8th minute: Way too easy! Hoffenheim work the ball to Maximilian Beier from defence in just two quick passes, and he is able to hold off his man and slot the ball home. The away side take an early 1-0 lead.
17th minute: But they don’t lead for long! Ducksch plays an exceptional ball into Romano Schmid, who cuts inside and fires past Baumann to bring the Green-Whites back into the game with a much-needed equaliser.
26th minute: Kaderábek drives down the right-hand side, leaving Friedl in his wake. However, his efforts are no match for Pavlenka, who does well to hold onto the shot.
29th minute: Grischa Prömel puts Hoffenheim back in front from a goal which was poorly defended once again. The TSG midfielder has all the time in the world to shoot from outside the box, and he picks out the bottom-left corner.
43rd minute: Keïta spots Ducksch’s forward run and attempts to play him in, but his pass is just a little too heavy and Baumann smothers the ball before the striker can get to it. Weiser has a go shortly after, but his shot is blocked by a Hoffenheim defender.
Late goals for both teams
Second-half highlights
52nd minute: The stadium is bouncing! A brilliant ball over the top from Veljkovic sends Njinmah in behind and he fires past Baumann. However, the flag goes up. It looked level, but VAR confirms the offside decision and the search for the equaliser goes on.
67th minute: Kaderábek whips in a cross, but it zips past everyone in the centre. It eventually runs through to Bülter on the other side, although he can’t create any more danger.
70th minute: Baumann rushes out of his box to cut out a long ball, but Weiser is able to knock it past him. However, Vogt gets a decisive touch to take it away from the winger and Hoffenheim are able to clear their lines.
74th minute: Woltemade dribbles inside and lays the ball off for Schmid to have a go. It’s well hit, but flies just a little wide of the target.
90th minute +1: Werder finally get their reward! A cross from Groß bounces up to Stage on the edge of the box. He makes the cleanest of connections on the volley and the ball rockets into the back of the net to make it 2-2!
90th minute +2: Unbelievable. TSG go down the other end and equalise straightaway. A throw-in is only cleared as far as Marius Bülter 20 yards out, and his low, first-time strike is beyond the reach of Pavlenka. 3-2 to TSG.
90th minute +7: Werder win one final corner. Ducksch floats it in looking for Borré, but he can’t get a shot off. Hoffenheim get rid of the ball.
90th minute +10: Game over. Hoffenheim take all three points from Bremen.
Summary: Werder woke up too late and were ultimately beaten by TSG’s clinical finishing. Hoffenheim dominated the first 45 minutes, but SVW upped their game after the break and deserved their equaliser. The visitors had the final say though and leave the Green-Whites empty-handed.
A rocky start for Werder
First-half highlights
5th minute: The visitors put immediate pressure on the Green-Whites and are looking to pounce on mistakes. Werder manage to break through though – Njinmah advances from the midfield and gets a shot away, but it goes narrowly wide of the left post. A solid first chance for SVW!
8th minute: Way too easy! Hoffenheim work the ball to Maximilian Beier from defence in just two quick passes, and he is able to hold off his man and slot the ball home. The away side take an early 1-0 lead.
17th minute: But they don’t lead for long! Ducksch plays an exceptional ball into Romano Schmid, who cuts inside and fires past Baumann to bring the Green-Whites back into the game with a much-needed equaliser.
26th minute: Kaderábek drives down the right-hand side, leaving Friedl in his wake. However, his efforts are no match for Pavlenka, who does well to hold onto the shot.
29th minute: Grischa Prömel puts Hoffenheim back in front from a goal which was poorly defended once again. The TSG midfielder has all the time in the world to shoot from outside the box, and he picks out the bottom-left corner.
43rd minute: Keïta spots Ducksch’s forward run and attempts to play him in, but his pass is just a little too heavy and Baumann smothers the ball before the striker can get to it. Weiser has a go shortly after, but his shot is blocked by a Hoffenheim defender.
