'Incredible': Miro Muheim relishes second successive late winner for on-form Hamburg
Miro Muheim's stunning strike in the 88th minute earned Hamburg a dramatic 1-0 home victory over Stuttgart - remarkably, it was the second time in as many Bundesliga matches the midfielder had scored a late winning goal for his side. On-song HSV have now won three league games in a row for the first time in 16 years.
With two minutes of regular time to go at the Volksparkstadion, Hamburg's Matchday 6 clash with Stuttgart looked to be petering out to a 0-0 draw. The visitors had dominated possession, but home goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes had kept them at bay with several eye-catching saves.
It was at that point that Zakaria El Ouahdi drove in from the right and laid the ball off to Muheim. The Swiss midfielder, a good 25 metres out, took a touch to get the ball onto his favoured left foot and promptly powered an unstoppable shot past Dennis Seimen to score what would prove to be the winning goal, much to the delight of the home faithful.
While this turn of events would have been sufficiently climactic on its own, Muheim's thunderbolt marked the second time in as many matches that he has scored a late winner for Hamburg; he previously came off the bench to secure all three points at Hoffenheim with a well-struck 94th-minute effort on Matchday 5.
"It feels incredible to me and I haven’t really taken it in yet," Muheim stated after Saturday's encounter. "I suppose the emotions will only really kick in once I’m back home later."
Fernandes, who earned the Man of the Match award for his fine performance in the HSV net, was quick to lavish praise on his goalscoring team-mate. "If I could pick one of our players for that situation, it would be Miro: he’s got an incredible shot and always poses a threat," he said. "He’s remained clear-headed and composed over the past few weeks."
Both of Muheim's decisive goals against Hoffenheim and Stuttgart were tremendous left-footed strikes from outside the box - although Saturday's was from significantly further out - and both led to joyful celebrations by fans and players alike.
If the reaction at the Volksparkstadion was even more raucous, it may be because Hamburg have now won three Bundesliga games in a row - the first time they have achieved such a feet in 16 years.
"Celebrating in front of the home fans was unbelievable," continued Muheim. "When the final whistle blew, all the tension just melted away. We’ve now won three games in a row. After a difficult start to the season, we’ve stayed focused and true to ourselves."
As far as HSV coach Merlin Polzin was concerned, this third successive success showed the extent to which his team can compete with anyone. "We realised that, although we were playing against top opponents representing Germany in Europe, we still had a chance," he explained. "The team radiated the belief that we can hold our own in the Bundesliga with our own style - it was a great moment for us and for Miro."
They last time Hamburg won three top-flight games in a row was under Armin Veh, during the 2010/11 season. Having now seen off the recent challenges of Cologne, Hoffenheim and Stuttgart, can they manage a fourth consecutive triumph away at Paderborn on Matchday 7? And will Muheim perform further last-gasp heroics?
"We knew where we needed to improve, and we’ve been working on it week by week," concluded the 28-year-old Switzerland international. "Now the next match is coming up, and we want to win that one too."
