Chris Richards was the only bright spot in a rough weekend for the Americans in the Bundesliga as Hoffenheim came away with the narrow win over Timothy Chandler and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Hoffenheim 3-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Hoffenheim fell behind early but fought back bravely to come away with the narrow win over Eintracht Frankfurt to move them closer to the Champions League places.
Chris Richards returned to the starting lineup for Hoffenheim and played the entire game, completing 80 percent of his passes and winning three aerial battles. On the other side, Timothy Chandler played 83 minutes, completing 58 percent of his passes and winning three aerial battles along with one shot.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Jesper Lindstrom whipped in a cross from the left side for Rafael Borre to thump home with a powerful header.
Hoffenheim would level the score nine minutes later when Munas Dabbur teed up Dennis Geiger for a stunning strike from outside the area. Georginio Rutter followed that goal up with one of his own on the half-hour mark when Ihlas Bebou’s attempt was blocked by Kevin Trapp, allowing the Frenchman to pounce on the rebound and bury the ball in the back of the net.
Diadie Samassekou extended the hosts lead in the 59th minute with a strike that took a deflection before rolling into the goal. There was a call for offside initially, but it was overruled after a review.
Goncalo Paciencia pulled one back for Frankfurt in the 72nd minute, but Hoffenheim was able to hold on for the win in the end.
The win puts Hoffenheim in fifth place with 23 points, while Eintracht Frankfurt sits in 12th place with 18 points.
Notes
In other Bundesliga action, Joe Scally and Borussia Monchengladbach were thrashed by Freibrug in a 6-0 defeat.
John Brooks and Wolfsburg’s winless run continued with a 3-0 loss to Mainz.
Tyler Adams went the distance for RB Leipzig in their 2-1 loss to Union Berlin, which turned out to be the last game for Jesse Marsch as he was relieved from his coaching duties.
Timothy Tillman was on the field while Julian Green watched from the bench as Greuther Furth was annihilated by Bayer Leverkusen by a 7-1 scoreline.
In the 2. Bundesliga, both Ryan Malone and Jalen Hawkins started for their respective teams as Hansa Rostock and Ingolstadt shared the points following a 1-1 draw.
Jann George was on the bench for Jahn Regensburg as they were shut out by Heidenheim in a 3-0 defeat.
Nicolas Carrera saw no action as Holstein Kiel fell in a narrow 2-1 loss to Nurnberg.
Down in the 3. Liga, Terrence Boyd was held scoreless as Hallescher FC shared the points with Wurzburger Kickers following a 0-0 draw.
Both Lennard Maloney and Mael Carboz started for their teams, but it would be the latter who was sent off as Borussia Dortmund II came away with a 3-0 win over Verl.
Bryang Kayo was on the bench for Viktoria Berlin’s 0-0 draw with Turkgucu Munich.
Kevin Lankford did not get off the bench as Wehen Wiesbaden settled for a 1-1 draw with Waldhof Mannheim.
Maximilian Dietz returned to Freiburg II’s bench as they scored a stoppage-time goal to claim a 1-0 win over Duisburg.
