A superb goal by Brazilian striker Maicosuel earned Hoffenheim a 1-0 victory over Freiburg on Sunday that moved them up to fifth place in the Bundesliga.
Maicosuel collected a pass from Vedad Ibisevic and found the net from the edge of the penalty area with a spectacular shot in the 39th minute.
Hoffenheim dominated the first half, wasting several chances, while promoted Freiburg raised their game after the break, but could not avoid their fourth consecutive loss.
PHOTO: EPA
Freiburg also announced that their long-time president Achim Stocker died on Sunday as a result of a heart attack suffered on Wednesday. Stocker was 74 and had been at the head of the club since 1972, the longest- serving boss in the Bundesliga.
With 20 points from 11 games, Hoffenheim are three points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Hoffenheim were the only top team to win over the weekend and moved past Bayern Munich, who are sixth in the standings.
In Sunday’s other game, Eintracht Frankfurt beat VfL Bochum 2-1 to spoil Heiko Herrlich’s debut as a Bundesliga coach.
Eintracht defender Maik Franz redeemed himself for giving away an own-goal by scoring the winner with a close-range header in the 53rd minute.
Eintracht dominated the match against the next-to-last team in the standings, whose coach Herrlich took the job this week, with Nikos Liberopoulos twice being denied by the woodwork.
Caio fired home a free-kick in the 14th minute to put Eintracht ahead, but Franz turned the ball into his own net in the 25th minute while trying to clear a cross from Joel Epalle.
Bochum’s Shinji Ono was sent off in the 80th minute for a second booking, which came less than a minute after his first yellow card.
German Bundesliga
Team | P | GD | PTS | |
1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 11 | 13 | 23 |
2 | Werder Bremen | 11 | 13 | 22 |
3 | Hamburg | 11 | 11 | 22 |
4 | Schalke 04 | 11 | 7 | 21 |
5 | TSG Hoffenheim | 11 | 10 | 20 |
6 | Bayern Munich | 11 | 8 | 19 |
7 | Wolfsburg | 11 | 2 | 18 |
8 | Mainz | 11 | 1 | 18 |
9 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 11 | -1 | 16 |
10 | Borussia Dortmund | 11 | -2 | 16 |
11 | Hannover 96 | 11 | 2 | 15 |
12 | Borussia M’gladbach | 11 | -7 | 11 |
13 | SC Freiburg | 11 | -9 | 10 |
14 | VfB Stuttgart | 11 | -5 | 9 |
15 | Cologne | 11 | -5 | 9 |
16 | Nuremberg | 11 | -8 | 9 |
17 | VfL Bochum | 11 | -12 | 8 |
18 | Hertha Berlin | 11 | -18 | 4 |
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