Ten-man Hoffenheim fight back to snatch draw in Lyon
Ten-man Hoffenheim pulled off an unlikely comeback from 2-0 down to secure a 2-2 draw away to Lyon to keep their hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages alive on Wednesday.
Lyon 2-2 Hoffenheim
Goals: 1-0 Fekir (19'), 2-0 Ndombele (28'), 2-1 Kramaric (65'), 2-2 Kaderabek (90+2')
Julian Nagelsmann's side were without a win in Group F going into this fixture and therefore started strongly in an bid to remedy that. And while they made all the early running they struggled to find gaps in a well-drilled Lyon side, who took the lead against the run of play when Nabil Fekir poked home from close range. Tanguy Ndombele's deflected strike around the half-hour mark from the edge of the penalty area put the home team on course for a victory that would have left Hoffenheim all but eliminated from the competition.
Defeat appeared to be a certainly for the visitors when Kasim Adams was sent off early in the second half for a second bookable offence, but Hoffenheim clearly had other ideas. Andrej Kramaric pulled one back with a fine shot from the edge of the Lyon box, but the home team should subsequently have killed the game off, only to squander a number of presentable opportunities. That set up a nail-biting finale in which Hoffenheim threw everything forward in search of an equaliser that they eventually found when Pavel Kaderabek prodded in at the back post from Kramaric's free-kick. Hoffenheim now return to Bundesliga action where they host Augsburg on Saturday.
Match stats
- The thrilling 3-3 draw on Matchday 3 was the first competitive meeting between Hoffenheim and Lyon.Nagelsmann is the Champions League's youngest ever coach, having made his debut in September at 31 years and 58 days old. TSG had never faced French opposition before Matchday 3, but OL have now faced Bundesliga clubs 27 times (W11, D5, L11). Joelinton is Hoffenheim’s top scorer so far this campaign with eight goals in 15 appearances.Nelson has five goals in six Bundesliga matches for TSG. Lyon have lost two of their last four home games against German clubs.
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Line-ups
Lyon: Lopes - Rafael, Marcelo (c), Denayer, Mendy - Ndombele (Cheikh 88'), Tousart, Aouar – Fekir (Dembele 74'), Depay (Traore 87'), Morel
Unused substitutes: Gorgelin, Terrier, Marcal, Tete
Absentees: Gouiri (cruciate ligament)
Coach: Bruno Genesio
Hoffenheim: Baumann – Adams, Vogt (c), Bicakcic – Kaderabek, Grillitsch (Nelson 57'), Demirbay (Nordtveit 79'), Schulz – Kramaric, Belfodil (Szalai 67'), Joelinton
Unused substitutes: Kobel, Brenet, Akpoguma, Grifo
Absentees: Amiri (foot), Hübner (concussion), Rupp (cruciate ligament)
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann
As it happened