Andrej Kramaric produced a masterclass as Hoffenheim claimed their first Europa League points with a stunning 3-0 win over previously perfect Lyon. The Croatia veteran scored in first-half stoppage time and created second-half goals for Adam Daghim and Adam Hlozek, ending Lyon's 100 per cent start in emphatic fashion.
Kramaric breaks Lyon's resistance
The form book pointed one way: Lyon had won at Anderlecht and beaten Crystal Palace 3-2 on Matchday 2, while Hoffenheim were pointless after defeats by OFI Crete and Besiktas. But Christian Ilzer's side attacked from the start, Mats Rots' early booking the only blemish on a half they controlled, and Lyon's night frayed — goalkeeper Dominik Greif needed treatment and Steeve Kango limped off before the break.
The goal the hosts deserved arrived at 45+4 minutes. Kramaric headed into the ground, saw the ball parried back into play and looped his follow-up over Greif and in, as Bundesliga.com's live blog described. It was a scruffy, brilliant goal — pure Kramaric — and it gave Hoffenheim a lead to protect.
Daghim and Hlozek finish the job
Four minutes after the restart, the game was gone. Kramaric turned provider, releasing Daghim to make it 2-0, and Lyon's response — Corentin Tolisso and Ernest Nuamah from the bench — never threatened Oliver Baumann's goal. Hoffenheim, beaten by an OFI Crete side Leverkusen brushed aside earlier on Thursday back on Matchday 1, were suddenly playing like European regulars.
Some context is owed to Lyon: Fonseca rotated heavily, with Tolisso, Tyler Morton, Moussa Niakhate and Nuamah all starting on the bench and youngsters Kael Boudache, Remi Himbert and Noah Nartey in the eleven. But rotation does not explain a performance this flat — Lyon's press was absent, their midfield was overrun by Leon Avdullahu and Bambase Conte, and once Kramaric broke through, there was never a spell in which an equaliser looked likely.
Kramaric completed his evening's work on 83 minutes, creating the third for substitute Hlozek, and finished with a goal, two assists and five shots — a performance that rolled back the years. Paulo Fonseca's Lyon, so fluent in the opening two rounds, were held to a handful of half-chances and finished well beaten, as UEFA's fixture round-up confirmed in a 3-0 final score with no red cards.
So what: Hoffenheim alive, Lyon checked
Hoffenheim's first three points haul them off the foot of the table and into the play-off fight, and the manner of the win matters as much as the margin: this was no smash-and-grab. They travel to Crystal Palace on Matchday 4, Thursday 5 November, for a meeting of two sides who suddenly look well matched.
There is little time to bask in it, either: Hoffenheim host Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Sunday, a rather different test of the confidence this win should generate, before the Selhurst Park trip that could define their European autumn.
Lyon stay on six points and remain well placed for the knockouts, but their perfect start is over and their defensive frailties — three conceded here after two against Palace — are a concern. They visit Real Sociedad on Matchday 4 needing a response.
Beyond the Final Whistle: at 35, Kramaric remains one of the most under-appreciated forwards in Europe — a goal and two assists against the league phase's form team is a statement from a player who has carried Hoffenheim for a decade. Lyon were not just beaten, they were dismantled, and the play-off picture in the middle of this table just got very interesting. Was this the performance of the Europa League week? Let us know in the comments.
