Hamburg deny Stuttgart in six-goal thriller
Hamburg - Hamburger SV pegged back VfB Stuttgart three times to take a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Thomas Schneider's men, who themselves stretched their unbeaten run to seven games.
Ibisevic catches HSV cold
Alexandru Maxim, a Christian Gentner effort and an own-goal from Johan Djourou had all put Stuttgart in a winning position in a high-octane encounter, only for Pierre-Michel Lasogga, Maximilian Beister and Rafael van der Vaart to deny the visitors, for whom Antonio Rüdiger was dismissed late on.
Stuttgart were unbeaten under new head coach Thomas Schneider, and the three-time Bundesliga champions made it clear from the off they came to the Imtech Arena to extend that run with Maxim's early goal. The 23-year-old played a lovely one-two with Vedad Ibisevic to beat Rene Adler with a stylish finish after only three minutes.
Hamburg recovered, however, evidently boosted by their stunning 5-0 victory at 1. FC Nürnberg last time out. Hakan Calhanoglu saw a well-placed drive saved by Thorsten Kirschbaum, between the VfB sticks for the injured Sven Ulreich, but Lasogga went one better on 22 minutes, finishing off some excellent work between Calhanoglu and Tolgay Arslan to level matters for the Red Shorts.
Blows traded
The home team looked keen to up the pressure as the half progressed, carving out a several half-chances, but Stuttgart have been dangerous on set-pieces this season, and they caught Hamburg cold before the break when Gentner glanced in Maxim's pin-point cross for Stuttgart's sixth headed goal of the season. Schneider's men twice came close to even opening up a two-goal lead, Ibisevic misfiring from close range before Adler palmed away an Arthur Boka rocket.
Beister's introduction at half-time gave Hamburg a new lease of life and they came within a whisker of levelling matters on 53 minutes, Heiko Westermann heading Calhanoglu's free-kick over the bar. The home side's pressure soon took its toll, however, as Arslan played a brilliant opening ball to Marcell Jansen, whose cross from the left was coolly converted by Beister.
van der Vaart strikes
Van Marwijk's men now threw bodies forward in search of the lead, van der Vaart twice failing to get the better of Kirchbaum before sending a long-range effort just over. The Bundesliga veterans were punished for their wasteful finishing shortly after the hour mark, though, when Djourou could only steer Ibrahima Traore's devilish cross into his own net on one of Stuttgart's few forays forward.
Unfazed by falling behind for the third time, Hamburg admirably maintained their pressure and hauled themselves back into the game yet again when van der Vaart finished with aplomb from Beister's pass. Further half-chances came in the dying stages when Stuttgart were reduced to ten men following Rüdiger's straight red card for a foul onthe Dutch international, but Hamburg's final efforts came to no further avail and the spoils were shared.
Line-ups and statistics
Check out 's top five goals, courtesy of the official Bundesliga YouTube channel:
