Hoffenheim end Bayern’s unbeaten run
BERLIN: Runaway Bundesliga l eaders Bayern Munich had their 20-match unbeaten run in all competitions ended at Hoffenheim on Tuesday as Andrej Kramaric’s winner sealed the hosts’ historic 1-0 victory.
Bayern’s run came to an end a week before their mouth-watering Champions League home leg quarter-final against Real Madrid.
This was Bayern’s first loss since going down 3-2 at Russia’s Rostov in a Champions League group game last November.
It was also only their second defeat in 27 German league games having also stumbled at Borussia Dortmund, but they still hold a 13-point lead in the table.
“Of course, we shouldn’t have allowed that to happen,” fumed Bayern’s captainfor-the-night Arjen Robben.
“Our lead [in the table] is still big, but that was an unnecessary defeat.”
This was Hoffenheim’s first win over Bayern at the 18th attempt.
Having earned a 1-1 draw in Munich last November, this is another feather in the cap for Hoffenheim’s 29-year-old coach Julian Nagelsmann.
“It always sounds good to beat Bayern, we went close in the first match, it was a good bit of work for us,” said Nagelsmann, Germany’s coach of the year for 2016.
With a busy run of fixtures approaching, Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti rotated his squad, but still started with 10 internationals.
Bayern host Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday, then Real next Wednesday.
Borussia Dortmund remain fourth after their 3-0 win over resurgent Hamburg, who suffered their first defeat in five games.
Gonzalo Castro, Shinji Kawaga and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored for Dortmund.
Schalke suffered their first defeat to Werder Bremen in nine years in losing 3-0 away.
Ex-Dortmund midfielder Milos Jojic scored Cologne’s winner in their 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt which moved his side up to fifth.