Kramaric keeps in-form Hoffenheim rolling in Bundesliga
Andrej Kramaric netted a brace to help Hoffenheim continue their impressive streak in the Bundesliga, securing a 3-1 victory against Union Berlin at home on Saturday.
Last term Hoffenheim just avoided dropping out of the top flight, yet they have gathered 19 out of 21 available points over their last seven matches, placing them on par with Borussia Dortmund in second position.
Dortmund face bottom side Heidenheim at home on Sunday. Hoffenheim trail leaders Bayern Munich by eight points, with the champions scheduled to visit Hamburg later that day.
Bayern will welcome Hoffenheim the following Sunday, and Kramaric shared with Sky Germany: "We're ready for it, it'll be a tough challenge. If we maintain our recent form from the last few weeks, we won't return without anything."
Union's climb to mid-table status this year relied on a robust backline, but the visitors from Berlin saw their defence crumble after defender Leopold Querfeld fouled Hoffenheim's Fisnik Asllani inside the penalty area.
Kramaric slotted the penalty with a composed chip. The Croatian striker added another goal with a header from Bazoumana Toure's delivery right before the interval.
A further cross from Toure allowed the home team to confirm the win shortly after the restart, as Union's Diogo Leite mis-hit the ball into his own goal with Kramaric nearby.
Bayer Leverkusen closed the gap to one point behind fourth-placed Leipzig thanks to a 3-1 success away at struggling Eintracht Frankfurt, who lack a manager until Albert Riera arrives next week. The home side ended the match with 10 players.
Arthur opened the scoring for Leverkusen with his debut Bundesliga strike, set up by an inventive back-heel from Alejandro Grimaldo.
Malik Tillman capitalised on weak placement by Frankfurt keeper Kaua Santos soon after to make it 2-0.
Robin Koch's effort shortly into the second half offered Frankfurt a chance to fight back, though Ellyes Skhiri received two bookings within three minutes of the restart.
Frankfurt have managed only a single win in their previous 13 outings across all tournaments. Riera earned the coaching role on Friday in an unexpected move, but the ex-Spain player, now at Slovenian outfit Celje, joins on Monday.
"We'll begin from scratch," remarked Frankfurt's Mario Goetze, "one step at a time."
In other action, RB Leipzig fell to the revitalised Mainz side, losing 2-1 on their own pitch despite an early advantage.
Konrad Harder gave the home team the lead, but Leipzig skipper David Raum conceded a spot-kick for the second match running, letting German midfielder Nadiem Amiri equalise from 12 yards.
Silas put Mainz ahead soon after the break. The club has suffered defeat only once in their nine fixtures under Urs Fischer, who began in December.
Other results saw Augsburg overcome St Pauli 2-1, while Werder Bremen's Keke Topp rescued a draw with a brilliant stoppage-time strike in their 1-1 stalemate against Borussia Moenchengladbach at home.