Hoffenheim leave it late with Kramaric condeming Bremen
Substitute Andrej Kramaric's late deflected effort earned Hoffenheim the points as their persistence paid off with a 1-0 win over Werder Bremen.
Hoffenheim 1-0 Werder Bremen
Goals: 1-0 Kramaric (84')
Kerem Demirbay scuppered an early opportunity for Hoffenheim, who already had 90 competitive minutes in their legs from their midweek UEFA Champions League tie with Liverpool. Demirbay went even closer at a similar stage of the second half with his shot bouncing down off the underside of the crossbar and onto – but not over – the line. Serge Gnabry was sent on to give more verve to the Hoffenheim attack, and it was Julian Nagelsmann's other substitute Kramaric whose deflected shot earned the points late on.
Line-ups
Hoffenheim: Baumann - Nordtveit, Vogt (c), Hübner - Toljan, Zuber - Demirbay – Geiger (Polanski 74'), Amiri (Kramaric 64') – Uth (Gnabry 67'), Szalai
Coach: Julian Nagelsmann
Bremen: Pavlenka - Bauer, Sane, Veljkovic - Gebre Selassie, Eggestein (Johanssson 87'), Augustinsson – Kainz (Bargfrede 67'), Delaney (c) – Bartels (Gondorf 75'), Kruse
Coach: Alexander Nouri
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Watch: Kramaric: "Must repeat last season!"
Match stats
- Hoffenheim now have a positive record on Matchday 1 (W4, D3, L3) and have never lost at home.Bremen have failed to win their last four openers, including heavy losses in the previous two (3-0 vs. Schalke, 6-0 vs. Bayern).Julian Nagelsmann has lost just nine times in 49 Bundesliga matches with Hoffenheim. Only four coaches to reach that number of games have a better record – all former Bayern bosses.Hoffenheim scored a league-high 13 goals from substitutes last season. They already have one this term.Forty-three goals have been scored in the last 11 meetings between these sides (just under 4 per game).Andrej Kramaric has six goals from his ten substitute appearances in the Bundesliga.
Watch: Highlights of Hoffenheim's win
Head to the Match Centre for more on this fixture.