Hamburg SV came to the PreZero Arena on Saturday and left with three points they had no business collecting for most of the afternoon. Hoffenheim dominated possession, created chances, and even turned a deficit into a lead before the hour. Then Bernardo got himself sent off, and everything unraveled.
Yussuf Poulsen opened the scoring in the 12th minute, tucking Hamburg's first real chance of the game away and giving the visitors an early foothold they probably didn't deserve. Hoffenheim had 64 percent of the ball by the final whistle and 544 passes to Hamburg's 305 — they were the better team for long stretches. But they kept finding ways to give it back.
The first half ended in the strangest possible way. Deep into stoppage time, Sebastiaan Bornauw turned the ball into his own net to make it 2-0 Hamburg. Six minutes of added time, a goal against the run of play, and Hoffenheim trudging into the tunnel two down despite doing most of the pressing.
Bambasé Conté pulled one back eight minutes into the second half, finishing off a Fisnik Asllani assist, and suddenly the PreZero Arena had a game again. Hoffenheim had momentum, the crowd, and a man advantage on paper. Then they threw it away.
Bernardo had picked up a yellow in the 55th minute. Ten minutes later he was gone — a second booking, and Hoffenheim were down to ten. Cabal, that was the moment this match died as a contest. Hamburg sat deeper, absorbed pressure, and waited.
They didn't have to wait long. Terem Moffi headed Hamburg back in front in the 83rd minute from a Miro Muheim cross, and the fight went out of Hoffenheim entirely. Then, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Muheim — who had just provided the assist — finished the job himself to make it 3-2. Hamburg had three shots on target. They scored with all three that counted.
El chispudo de Muheim in those closing minutes, first the cross and then the finish, was the difference between a point and nothing for a Hamburg side that had looked shaky for most of the ninety. Hoffenheim had 17 shots to Hamburg's 15 but only four on target, and their goalkeeper made just one save all game. The numbers say they controlled the match. The scoreboard says otherwise.
Hoffenheim's form coming in read LLWLL, and this loss does nothing to change the mood around the club. A red card to a player who had already been booked, an own goal right before halftime, and a lead squandered in the final ten minutes — there is plenty to fix. Hamburg, for their part, were inconsistent enough (WLLLW) that this probably shouldn't be read as a sign of something bigger. But three points on the road, coming from behind twice, with ten men against them for a quarter of the game? They'll take it.
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