Kramarić the hat-trick hero as Hoffenheim ease past Gladbach

Andrej Kramarić grabbed all the headlines with a clinical first half hat-trick on the way to a 5-1 victory, kick-starting the year in emphatic fashion and securing Hoffenheim’s fifth straight Bundesliga home win.

The opening exchanges were all Hoffenheim, suffocating Gladbach in their own half with intense pressing and quick ball recovery. The hosts looked fresher from the outset, aided by their weekend off following a postponed fixture. An early warning arrived just four minutes in when Ozan Kabak’s header from a corner crashed against the crossbar.

Christian Ilzer’s side turned pressure into a breakthrough around the 20-minute mark when Lukas Ullrich brought down Wouter Burger after a long throw-in, handing Hoffenheim a penalty. Kramarić calmly sent Moritz Nicolas the wrong way to open the scoring. Barely two minutes later the hosts doubled their lead, Gladbach losing possession in midfield and allowing Hoffenheim to counter swiftly, Fisnik Asllani releasing Tim Lemperle who drove a low finish across goal from the right side of the box.

Hoffenheim continued to exploit the gaps in Gladbach’s back line with devastating effect. A third arrived a minute into stoppage time as Asllani drew pressure before slipping Kramarić through to slot home. Matters worsened almost immediately, as another cheap turnover allowed Lemperle to release Kramarić once more. From a tight angle the Croat produced a sublime chipped finish past a stranded Nicolas to complete his first half hat-trick, sending Hoffenheim into the break 4-0 up and leaving Polanski’s side shellshocked.

With Polanski’s words likely still ringing in their ears, Die Fohlen showed a slight improvement defensively after the interval but offered little going forward, with Hoffenheim continuing to dominate. They did, however, capitalise on a rare error just before the 70-minute mark, Rocco Reitz intercepting a loose pass from David Hranáč before slipping in Shuto Machino, who fired past Oliver Baumann to reduce the deficit to 4-1.

Any hopes of a comeback were swiftly extinguished eight minutes later as Hoffenheim restored their four-goal advantage. Two substitutes combined, Valentin Gendrey delivering an inviting cross for Max Moerstedt, who nodded home from close range with his first touch to complete the rout at 5-1.

It was a statement home victory for Hoffenheim to close out the Hinrunde, lifting them into fifth place with a game in hand on Stuttgart above. For Gladbach, it was a sobering night that undid the momentum from their win over Augsburg, though they remain 10th in the table.