Reiss Nelson on target, but Fortuna Düsseldorf celebrate first top-flight win since 2013
Reiss Nelson marked his Bundesliga debut with a goal, but it was not enough for Julian Nagelsmann's Hoffenheim as they went down 2-1 at Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2–1 1899 Hoffenheim
Goals: 1-0 Morales (45'), 1-1 Nelson (86), 2-1 Lukebakio (88', pen.)
Andrej Kramaric was making his first start of the season, and he was making his presence felt in the Hoffenheim attack. All that was lacking, though, as the Croatian supplied the first three shots of the game, was a finish. The best of those chances was scuppered after just over half an hour when he missed the target from a promising position, just six yards out. A lack of defensive discipline then costs Hoffenheim dearly as Jean Zimmer's cross was met by a bullet-header from Morales, who gave the hosts a half-time advantage.
Hoffenheim full-back Nico Schulz, fresh from winning his first cap for Germany, tried to carve out opportunities with his penetrating runs down the left, but his inventiveness could not be matched by his team-mates as the guests – perhaps with one eye on their UEFA Champions League debut in midweek – struggled to find a route to goal. They came close when Florian Grillitsch curled a 20-yard effort onto the top of the right-hand post as they turned up the heat in the final ten minutes, and they proved too hot for Fortuna to handle when substitute Reiss Nelson pounced on a loose ball and slid a low shot past Michael Rensing to mark his debut with a goal. The hosts regrouped immediately, though, and levelled with Dodi Lukebakio converting a penalty only minutes after sending an arguably easier opportunity onto the crossbar.
Match stats
- The point Düsseldorf picked up against Leipzig on Matchday 2 was their first of the season and ended a run of six successive Bundesliga defeats. They have not won in 14 top-flight matches.Morales' last Bundesliga goal came back in December 2016, in a 2-1 win for Ingolstadt over Bayer Leverkusen.All three of the Düsseldorf defender's goals have come from headers, all from a cross, and all to put his side 1-0 up.Fortuna Düsseldorf's last Bundesliga win came in February 2013, when Axel Bellinghausen struck in a 1-0 win over Greuther Fürth.Nelson scored with his first shot in the Bundesliga.Fortuna were the only current Bundesliga side Hoffenheim had never lost to.Düsseldorf coach Funkel has met Hoffenheim three times before while in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt and Hertha Berlin, taking just a single point from those matches.
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Line-ups
Düsseldorf: Rensing – Zimmer, Ayhan (Bormuth 59'), Bodzek (c), Kaminski, Gießelmann – Zimmermann, Sobottka – Morales – Ducksch (Karaman 79'), Hennings (Lukebakio 67')
Unused substitutes: Wolf, Raman, Stöger, Usami
Absentees: Wiesner (pubic bone), Froese (ankle), Hoffmann (concussion)
Coach: Friedhelm Funkel
Hoffenheim: Baumann – Kaderabek, Nordtveit, Vogt (c), Schulz – Bittencourt (Zuber 63'), Grillitsch, Posch (Nelson 72') – Joelinton (Belfodil 57'), Szalai, Kramaric
Unused substitutes: Kobel, Hoogma, Brenet, Pires
Absentees: Akpoguma, Hübner (both concussion), Bicakcic (Achilles), Adams (ankle), Geiger (thigh), Amiri (foot)
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann
Watch: Nelson wants Hoffenheim to stay focused until the end!
As it happened