Stunning Moerstedt goal rescues European point for Hoffenheim

With their long list of absent players creating headlines in Germany, TSG Hoffenheim travelled to Denmark to face FC Midtjylland in a midweek Europa League encounter in which the clubs faced each other for the first time in their respective histories.

With the German side having garnered only one win from their opening four Bundesliga fixtures, this was a game that could really breathe life back into Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side. However, with six wins from their first nine games and sitting top of the Danish Superliga, Midtjylland were not going to be an easy target for Die Kraichgauer. 

The game started quickly, with the hosts’ Djú Franculino stinging the palms of Oliver Baumann from close range inside four minutes. 

Midtjylland should have been ahead after nine minutes, when former Wolfsburg and Augsburg man Kevin Mbabu pulled off the shoulder of Stanley N’Soki at a corner and was rewarded with a free header, but Baumann was again equal to it. 

Adam Hložek managed Hoffenheim’s first chance of the half with a decent attempt from just outside the area, the ball skewing just inches wide of the right post. 

Hoffenheim struggled to get a foothold in the game during the first quarter of an hour, with Midtjylland’s two banks of four able to cut out even their most basic passing attempts. 

Around the 20-minute mark, Midtjylland’s low-scoring Uruguayan midfielder, Emiliano Martínez, let fly from 25 yards out, very nearly finding the bottom left corner. 

The combination of Aral Şimşir and Joel Andersson on the Danish side’s left flank proved very threatening in the first half, often resulting in a ball delivered to a dangerous central area. However, Midtjylland’s strikers were unable to convert. 

The game really began to open up after the first 30 minutes. First, Franculino’s blushes were spared when he was ruled offside after missing an open goal from no more than a yard out. The ball fell to Franculino after Hoffenheim’s Valentin Gendrey conceded possession very cheaply in midfield, and Şimşir failed to convert the resulting shot. 

Soon after, Hložek had a great chance to put Hoffenheim in front after his side had been let off the hook, but he was unable to get enough power behind the strike.

However, in the 42nd minute, Darío Osorio opened the scoring in spectacular fashion for Midtjylland, cutting inside Marius Bülter before bending a left-footed strike into the far corner from outside the box. This sent the home fans into raptures, and it was no more than their side deserved after Hoffenheim had conceded a significant number of chances from wide areas during the first half. 

Midtjylland had a fantastic chance to go two in front early into the second half, after a rapid counterattack resulted in Franculino with just the keeper to beat after being found by a perfectly weighted cross from Şimşir. However, his shot was far too close to Baumann, who palmed it away. 

At the 60-minute mark, Pellegrino Matarazzo had seen enough and opted for a double change, introducing Mergim Berisha and Alexander Prass in the hope of rescuing a result. Hoffenheim had really struggled to get anything going by this point, failing to manage even a single shot on target. 

Midtjylland’s set pieces proved far too difficult for Hoffenheim to deal with, a long throw into the box from Mads Bech almost being converted at the far post by centre-back Ousmane Diao. 

In the 74th minute, Hoffenheim finally managed a shot on goal, with the substitute Berisha hitting a half-chance on the turn straight at goalkeeper Elías Ólafsson, who kept it out easily. He was afforded a second chance ten minutes later, but slipped at the crucial moment, which really summed up a disjointed evening for the German side. 

Ólafsson also made an outstanding double save from close range with six minutes of normal time to play, after a Tom Bischof free kick found Berisha in the centre. Thankfully for the Icelandic goalkeeper, it would not have counted had the chance found the back of the net, as Berisha was called offside, but a brilliantly alert piece of goalkeeping nonetheless. 

Hoffenheim were rescued in the 89th minute, however, by the unlikely source of teenager Max Moerstedt, who had come on to make his European debut. Pavel Kadeřábek found the youngster with a low cross, from which Moerstedt converted with an absolutely ludicrous scorpion kick finish at the near post to rescue the visitors. 

Despite salvaging a point from the game, Hoffenheim were second best for large periods of the game, and manager Matarazzo will certainly be feeling the pressure after such a lacklustre display.