Late defeat in Berlin
The scenario
Both teams had dropped points towards the end of last year but Union Berlin still went into the game in fifth place, while TSG Hoffenheim were down in 11th with nine points fewer.
The line-up
Head coach André Breitenreiter made three changes to the starting XI that played in the 2-1 defeat to VfL Wolfsburg before the winter break. Stanley Nsoki, Ihlas Bebou and Tom Bischof, who was making his debut in the starting XI, were the new faces in the team.
Number of the game: 259
There were 259 days between Ihlas Bebou's previous competitive appearance and his comeback away to Union Berlin. The forward had last played in the 4-2 defeat to Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Matchday 33 of last season.
Moment of the match
The goal that made it 2-1 to Union. Robert Skov made a last-second clearance to take the ball off the toes of Levin Öztunali, who was probably offside. But the corner was still awarded and Danilho Doekhi headed home to make it 2-1 in the 89th minute.
Debut of the match
Tom Bischof made the starting XI in the Bundesliga for the first time and became the youngest player to start a league game in Hoffenheim's history. He was 17 years and 207 days old at the time of the 3-1 loss to Union Berlin.
Outlook
TSG will be in Bundesliga action again as early as Tuesday. VfB Stuttgart will be the visitors to the PreZero Arena at 20:30 CET.
Stats
Line-ups:
Union Berlin: Rönnow – Jaeckel, Knoche, Doekhi – Trimmel, Khedira, Gießelmann – Haraguchi (Seguin, 63), Haberer (Öztunali, 88) – Jordan (Behrens, 63), Becker (Leweling, 88)
TSG Hoffenheim: Baumann – Akpoguma (Kadeřábek, 42), Ozan Kabak (Bičakčić, 77), Nsoki – Skov, Geiger, Stiller, Angeliño – Bischof (Kramarić, 66), Baumgartner – Bebou (Dolberg, 66)
Goals: 0-1 Bebou (44), 1-1 Doekhi (73), 2-1 Doekhi (89), 3-1 Leweling (90+6)
Notable incidents: Jordan hits the post with penalty awarded for handball (25)