Last chance to survive Champion League
Crossing my fingers for this club which is not very popular in Germany based on its heritage or sponsorship by a guy from SAP but this is nonsense. Today we need to win! "We" as in I like them and I am German - we need to win points for the entire Bundesliga ranking.
Hoffenheim doomed to win
The club from the South-West of Germany, 50 kilometres from my home town needs a victory after three draws in the group stage against Donezk. Coach Julian Nagelsmann gives a clear motto: The zero must be there. - Hell yes!
Previously, Nagelsmann had announced that he would demonstrate the defensive behavior of "one of the world's largest teams" to his professionals: "That should be our role model. With them the Zeugwart earns more than most players with us.
The secrecy before the Champions League game on Tuesday against Schachtjor Donezk serves only one purpose: The Bundesliga team wants to win its first three players in the premier league at the fifth attempt. "The adventure should not end yet", Captain Kevin Vogt emphasized: "We want to finally bring in the historical victory".
The starting position before the final two matches of Group F is clear: Hoffenheim (3 points) would win against Donezk (2) to secure third place and thus participate in the Europa League. The TSG need an optimal course in their favour to make it to the round of 16 of the Champions League. This is because Olympique Lyon (6) won the direct comparison against the Hoffenheim team. That's why the Kraichgau team will have to win in the last group match against Manchester City (9).
Meaning: If the last two group games do not run exactly according to Hoffenheim's ideas, the Nagelsmann team will either continue with the "provincial tour" in the Europa League or the dream of international business will be over in a quick run.
In order to get the chance for a "final match" in Manchester, the Hoffenheimers should finally get their defensive weakness under control. This was not only shown at the 3:3 on Saturday in the league with Hertha BSC. Also the nine goals against in the first four games of the top class are clearly too much for Nagelsmann (Service: The schedule of the Champions League).
Poor attitude of the defending players
"The maximum will to succeed on the defensive is not in everyone's head. Basically, we just have to defend better, that's the key. But it's not a question of tactics or training - it starts between the ears," said the coach, who against Donetsk has to do without Dennis Geiger, Benjamin Hübner, Nadiem Amiri, Lukas Rupp and Florian Grillitsch.
According to Nagelsmann, the deficient attitude towards defence work makes the difference to the top teams. "You can't play out a lot more chances than we are in almost every game in the Champions League of outsiders," the 31-year-old said, "We almost always score two or three goals. That's enough for a real top team - not so often for us."
"We have to flip the switch and focus on the defensive. We can score goals. But these many goals - that's incredible," said playmaker Kerem Demirbay: "We have to defend everyone better. If we do everything in our power against Donetsk to stay without conceding a goal, then we win."
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