Stuttgart with 10 Men Grab Late Equaliser to Crush Hoffenheim Dreams in Tense Draw

Following two successive 2-1 victories after a run of five matches without a win, Hoffenheim arrived with the belief to start strongly and grab an early lead in Kraichgau during the eighth minute.

Excellent play from Fisnik Asllani was crucial, as the Kosovan delivered a precise pass to Andrej Kramaric, who slotted it calmly into the bottom-left corner with his typical composure.

Stuttgart responded swiftly on the 20th minute, launching a rapid break that saw defender Ramon Hendriks surge forward alongside Chris Fuhrich, who then lifted the ball into the goal to quieten the PreZero Arena.

This hush endured for just three minutes, however, before Bazoumana Toure reclaimed the advantage for Hoffenheim by pouncing on a loose ball and smashing it into the bottom-right corner from just outside the penalty area.

The rest of the first half featured a few fleeting moments of excitement, but nothing more was added to the tally. Consequently, Hoffenheim entered the break ahead, marking the 14th time this season they led at half-time in the league, a promising sign given they had triumphed in 12 of the prior 13 such instances.

Hoffenheim bolstered their position for yet another victory merely two minutes into the second half, as Kramaric notched his 23rd Bundesliga double, and his second in the space of three games, by tapping in Touré’s cross at the back post after the Ivorian’s superb touch on a lofted pass forward.

With a header repelled and a strike that struck the frame of the goal, Asllani and Tim Lemperle might have extended the lead to 4-1, even though these opportunities flanked a Fuhrich effort that sailed just over the bar.

Given that only the top two teams had netted in both halves of more Bundesliga fixtures than Stuttgart entering this round, it was hardly unexpected for Fuhrich to contribute to exploiting those squandered chances.

His clever pass to the right wing set up Jamie Leweling to drive on and deliver a low centre for Ermedin Demirovic to poke in at the far post, reigniting Stuttgart’s aspirations of climbing to fourth by the end of the day.

Those aspirations suffered a setback, though, when Stuttgart’s captain Atakan Karazor deliberately fouled Asllani by striking his Achilles during a pursuit, prompting referee Sascha Stegemann to promptly send off the Turkish player.

Yet Hoffenheim could not capitalise on their numerical superiority, and it cost them with the very last action of the game. Shortly after nodding wide with the goal gaping, Tiago Tomas bundled the ball over the line from the rebound of Angelo Stiller’s blocked attempt to secure a share of the spoils.

Now with both sides holding a three-point cushion over Bayer Leverkusen, attention shifts to the BayArena, where both hope RB Leipzig can hold firm to prevent a loss.