Andrej Kramarić inspires Hoffenheim to stunning victory over Bayer Leverkusen
Andrej Kramarić converted a late penalty before Alexander Prass’ thunderous effort and Max Moerstedt's stoppage-time strike secured Hoffenheim their first Bundesliga clean sheet of 2026/27, while bringing an end to Bayer Leverkusen’s five-game unbeaten run.
Hoffenheim 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Goals: 1-0 Kramarić 79’ (pen.), 2-0 Prass 89’ (assist: Kramarić), 3-0 Moerstedt 90’+6
Christian Ilzer made four changes to the Hoffenheim side that won in the UEFA Europa League against Lyon, with Kōki Machida, Wouter Burger, Fisnik Asllani and Adam Hložek coming in.
Bayer Leverkusen, fresh off a Europa League win over OFI Crete, made six changes with Mark Flekken, Edmond Tapsoba, Miguel Gutiérrez, Moussa Diaby, Ibrahim Maza and Nathan Tella all starting.
First half: chances but no breakthrough
Both sides started brightly in heavy rain. Hložek fired over early on, while Tella went close at the other end for the visitors.
Hoffenheim's Asllani was then denied twice by Flekken in a lively opening, but the best chance of the half fell to Hložek, whose effort from a tight angle crashed off the post, with the rebound from Prass going just wide.
Second half: Late drama seals win
The game turned on 79 minutes when Tapsoba clipped Asllani's ankle in the box and, after a VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot. Kramarić stepped up and sent his penalty down the middle past Flekken to make it 1-0, a goal that also marked Hoffenheim's 1,000th in Bundesliga history.
Leverkusen pushed for an equaliser through Maza and Robert Andrich but in the 89th minute, Hoffenheim struck again on the counter when Moerstedt flicked the ball on for Kramarić, who found Prass with a perfectly weighted pass - the Austrian fired past Flekken to make it 2-0.
Moments later, in the sixth minute of injury time, Kramarić's effort came back off the crossbar and Moerstedt pounced to complete the 3-0 win, which brought an end to Leverkusen's winning streak, as Hoffenheim picked up their first clean sheet.
Man of the Match: Andrej Kramarić
Brought on after 65 minutes, Kramarić changed the course of the game. He converted the decisive penalty for Hoffenheim's 1,000th Bundesliga goal, then set up Prass's strike with a precise pass before seeing his own late shot cannon off the crossbar straight to Moerstedt for the third.
He was voted Player of the Match with 59 percent of the vote.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Hoffenheim 3.19 - Leverkusen 0.62
Fastest player: Adam Daghim (Hoffenheim), 36.14 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 2:0 by Alexander Prass (Hoffenheim), 34 percent
Pass efficiency: Leon Avdullahu (Hoffenheim), +2.32
