Tiago Tomás snatches dramatic late equaliser as Stuttgart deny Hoffenheim in six-goal thriller
Tiago Tomás’ dramatic stoppage-time equaliser secured 10-men VfB Stuttgart a share of the points as Sebastian Hoeneß’s charges fought back from 3-1 down to draw with Hoffenheim.
Hoffenheim 3-3 VfB Stuttgart
Goals: 1-0 Kramarić 7’ (assist: Asllani), 1-1 Führich 20’ (assist: Hendriks), 2-1 Touré 24’, 3-1 Kramarić 49’ (assist: Touré), 3-2 Demirović 64’ (assist: Leweling), 3-3 Tomás 90’+5
Red card: Karazor 69’
A top-five Bundesliga clash with UEFA Champions League implications brought Hoffenheim and Stuttgart together at the PreZero Arena on Matchday 32. The two sides were level on points, separated only by goal difference, with Stuttgart fourth and Hoffenheim fifth.
Adding to the occasion, Andrej Kramarić was set to play on the very day his contract extension at the club was announced.
Kramarić pounces early
The opening exchanges were feisty, with three fouls committed in the first four minutes alone but it was Hoffenheim who drew first blood in the seventh minute.
Stuttgart failed to clear a throw-in, and Fisnik Asllani's mis-hit shot from the edge of the area fell perfectly for Kramarić, who was alert at the far post to fire low into the corner past Alexander Nübel.
It was Hoffenheim's earliest goal of the Bundesliga season, and the hosts had not dropped a single home point after taking the lead all season.
Führich finds the tiniest of gaps
Stuttgart hit back with purpose. In the 20th minute, Chris Führich drove through the centre of the pitch, exchanged a one-two with Ramon Hendriks, and then found the tiniest of gaps at the near post with a left-footed shot, squeezing the ball past Oliver Baumann to level the scores.
The joy was short-lived for the visitors. Just four minutes later, Hoffenheim regained the lead from a corner. Karazor could only head the ball as far as Bazoumana Touré, who controlled with his chest and fired a low right-footed shot from 16 metres through a crowd of bodies and into the net to make it 2-1.
Stuttgart threatened briefly through Deniz Undav, whose header from a cross sailed over the bar, whilst Ozan Kabak drove forward and fired wide from distance. Bilal El Khannouss blazed wide from a tight angle in the 44th minute as Stuttgart sought a leveller, but Hoffenheim held firm to lead 2-1 at the interval, having registered far more shots than their opponents.
Kramarić doubles up on the counter
The second half began at a similar tempo. Undav nearly caught Baumann in possession in the 48th minute, but the Hoffenheim goalkeeper recovered.
Moments later, Hoffenheim struck on the counter-attack. Touré received a long ball on the left flank, outpaced his marker, and delivered a first-time cross to the far post, where Kramarić was on hand to fire home from close range to make it 3-1.
Demirović strikes, Karazor sees red
Sebastian Hoeneß introduced Ermedin Demirović and Maximilian Mittelstädt in the 55th minute, and the double change had an immediate impact. In the 64th minute, Führich played a perfectly-weighted pass to Leweling on the right, who drove forward before crossing to the far post, where Demirović stretched to fire home and reduce the deficit to 3-2 but then came the pivotal moment of the match.
In the 69th minute, Karazor was shown a straight red card for a reckless foul on Asllani from behind, leaving Stuttgart to play the final 21 minutes with ten men.
With Stuttgart reduced to ten men, Hoffenheim appeared to be coasting to victory but in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Angelo Stiller forced Baumann into a save, and Tomás reacted quickest to the rebound, firing home from five metres to complete a stunning 3-3 equaliser and send the travelling Stuttgart supporters into raptures.
Man of the Match: Andrej Kramarić
Kramarić was the standout performer in a match full of quality. The Hoffenheim forward scored twice — opening the scoring in the seventh minute after reacting sharply to Asllani's mis-hit, and then finishing clinically on the counter-attack in the 49th minute to make it 3-1.
He was the most pressed player on the pitch with 21 instances of pressure, yet still managed to influence the game throughout.
Voted Man of the Match by supporters with 49 per cent of the vote, Kramarić's brace came on the very day his contract extension at the club was announced.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Hoffenheim 2.92 - Stuttgart 2.30
Fastest player: Bazoumana Touré (Hoffenheim), 35.17 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 1-1 by Chris Führich (Stuttgart), 6 percent
Most pressed player: Andrej Kramarić (Hoffenheim), 21 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Leon Avdullahu (Hoffenheim), +3.7
Fantasy Heroes: Andrej Kramarić (Hoffenheim, 352 Points), Bazoumana Touré (Hoffenheim, 340 Points), Chris Führich (Stuttgart, 293 Points)
