Even without Felix Magath on the sidelines, Hertha BSC wins the first game under the new head coach and stops the downward slide with a 3-0 win over TSG Hoffenheim.
“Oh, how beautiful it is,” echoed through the Olympic Stadium. The Berlin fans celebrated their players, who cheered the first win of the year with great relief. After months of sadness and despair, the joy of football has returned with “Quälix” Felix Magath at Hertha BSC – even though he wasn’t there.
“It clicked for us during the week after the change of coach,” said midfielder Marco Richter after the redeeming 3-0 (1-0) win over TSG Hoffenheim sky and revealed that the new boss had Facetimed his team before the game and at half-time.
The coach infected with the corona virus followed the game in the hotel room. His assistant Mark Fotheringham gave the instructions loudly and with gestures on the sidelines, bouncing around like a rubber ball and hugging his new charges after the final whistle.
“It’s amazing,” said Niklas Stark about the Scottish assistant coach and summed it up: “It’s a brutal relief for the fans and for us. You can tell that a jolt goes through the team.”
After five defeats in a row, Hertha stopped the descent and left the direct relegation zone. Stark (39′), Ishak Belfodil (63′) and Hoffenheim’s David Raum scored with an own goal (74′) for the Berliners, who had improved their tactics and attitude – each after a standard situation.
Hertha scores 1-0 out of nowhere
The Hoffenheim team disappointed in front of around 25,000 spectators and, after five games without defeat, suffered a setback in the fight for a place in the Champions League.
Corona caused short-term failures on both sides. While Hoffenheim’s Pavel Kaderabek, Florian Grillitsch and Ihlas Bebou were unable to travel to Berlin due to positive tests, Hertha lost Magath and midfielder Vladimir Darida.
The Berliners bucked the negative trend and started powerfully and aggressively. In doing so, they forced Hoffenheim to make mistakes – such as the catastrophic bad pass by Jacob Bruun Larsen, which led to Hertha’s first good goal chance through Richter (8th).
As the game progressed, however, the guests were able to break free a little better, especially on the left flank with national player space, dangerous attacks ran. Larsen should have scored for TSG in the 25th minute, but the Dane’s nerves failed him five yards out in front of the goal.
As the game threatened to falter, Stark’s headed goal from a corner caused a big cheer in the stadium. The linesman initially ruled it offside, but thanks to the VAR, the goal was rightly awarded with a little delay.
Hoffenheim increased the pressure after the break, but found it difficult to create chances against the well-stacked Hertha defense. TSG coach Sebastian Hoeneß reacted and brought another offensive player into Munas Dabbur after an hour. But the other goals were scored by the Berliners, who were often cleverer in duels.
