Sebastian Rudy (r.) showed Hoffenheim the way against Braunschweig
Sebastian Rudy (r.) showed Hoffenheim the way against Braunschweig

Braunschweig's relegation confirmed after Hoffenheim loss

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Sinsheim - 1899 Hoffenheim ended Eintracht Braunschweig’s slim hopes of reaching the relegation play-offs after a 3-1 win at the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena.

Volland seals it

Markus Gisdols men found their rhythm quickly in Sinsheim, bossing proceedings from the off and looking the more threatening side throughout the opening period. Their pressure soon took its toll as Sebastian Rudy nodded the ball into the back of the Eintracht net following a neat move down the left by Andreas Beck.

Karim Bellarabi gave Hoffenheim a rare warning half an hour into the game when he sent a long-range effort flying over the crossbar, but Hoffenheim remained in the driving seat and should have doubled their advantage when Kevin Volland found himself through on goal, only for Braunschweig left-back Ken Reichel to clear the ball off the line.

Torsten Lieberknecht's side were struggling to cope with the hosts' creativity and found themselves 2-0 down just after the hour mark, Brazilian midfielder Roberto Firmino sending Tobias Strobl’s fine cross past Daniel Davari with a spectacular scissor-kick from the edge of the box for his 16th goal of the season.

Braunschweig threw bodies forward trying to find a way back into the game in the final 30 minutes, leaving themselves vulnerable to counter-attacks. Kevin Volland made use of the space afforded to him to slot Fabian Johnson’s pass into the net. Braunschweig substitute Jan Hochscheidt eventually pulled one back for the guests, but it was too little too late for the Lower Saxony side who finished the season bottom of the table, while Hoffenheim end the campaign in a respectable ninth.

Line-ups and statistics


Check out Roberto Firmino's stunning goal and the ensuing curious scene on the official Bundesliga YouTube channel: