Hoffenheim inflict further misery on Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen 0-3 Hoffenheim
Goals: 0-1 Baumgartner 9’ (assist: Prömel), 0-2 Kramaric 35’, 0-3 Rutter 78’

Hoffenheim had their backs to the wall last matchday but came back from 2-0 down to beat Bochum. This time it was Baumgartner with his back to goal early on after a one-two in the box with Grischa Prömel, and the Austrian pulled out an audacious back heel to pick out the bottom corner. Patrik Schick pulled out a lovely flick to get in behind in search of his first goal of the campaign but blazed wide from 18 yards. TSG then inflicted further misery on still winless Leverkusen when Ozan Kabak’s cross deflected over Lukas Hradecky and allowed Kramaric to nod in at the far post. The visitors thought they had a third straight after when Rutter got down the by-line and nutmegged Hradecky for Robert Skov to tap in, but a VAR check spotted a foul by Kabak at the other end of the pitch in the build-up. Even with the goal chalked off, Hoffenheim were well worth their half-time advantage.

Werkself boss Gerardo Seoane opted for a change of personnel and formation after the break and saw his side continuously flood forward. They looked certain to be getting one back when Schick picked out the bottom right corner, but the Czech forward saw his shot cleared by his own teammate in Sardar Azmoun, who couldn’t adjust his feet on the line. Rutter got his feet all right, though, when he shifted the ball onto his left on the right of the box and smashed TSG’s third into the far top corner. The result leaves Leverkusen a surprise bottom having lost all four of their competitive matches this season. Hoffenheim move into six points after recovering from an opening loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

• Kramaric opened his account for the campaign with his 89th Bundesliga goal, but just the ninth with his head.
• Rutter got his first Bundesliga goal since May 2022, also against Leverkusen. He’s got more goals against Bayer (two) than any other club.
• This was Hoffenheim’s first away win since March, having gone five without victory on the road.
• Andre Breitenreiter got his first win over Leverkusen in the Bundesliga at the eighth attempt (previously D4, L3).
• It’s the second time ever Leverkusen have lost their opening three games of a Bundesliga season. It last happened in 2018/19, when they still finished the campaign in fourth.
• But it’s the first time they’ve lost their first two home games of a Bundesliga season and lost their opening four competitive fixtures.

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Watch: Lukas Hradecky: "It's about the quality"

Leverkusen: Hradecky (c) - Frimpong, Tah, Tapsoba (Bakker 76’), Hincapie - Aranguiz (Palacios 46’), Andrich (Paulinho 66’) - Diaby, Azmoun (Amiri 76’), Hlozek (Demirbay 46’) - Schick
Unused subs: Lomb, Kossounou, Sinkgraven, Fosu-Mensah
Out: Adli (collarbone), Bellarabi (knee), Lunev (thigh), Wirtz (cruciate ligament)
Coach: Gerardo Seoane

Hoffenheim: Baumann (c) - Kabak, Vogt, Akpoguma - Skov (Kaderabek 69’), Prömel, Geiger (Rudy 75’), Angelino - Baumgartner (Dabbur 69’) - Kramaric (Bruun Larsen 85’), Rutter (Stiller 85’)
Unused subs: Philipp, Samassekou, Quaresma, Posch
Out: Bebou (knee), Bicakcic (knee), Hübner (ankle), Nsoki (thigh), Pentke (elbow)
Coach: Andre Breitenreiter

Watch: Christoph Baumgartner: "You need a bit of luck"