Halil Altintop and Tobias Werner lead Augsburg past Hoffenheim

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:22 am
FC Augsburg players celebrate Tobias Werner's goal during their 3-1 win vs. Hoffenheim in a Bundesliga match played in a blizzard at Augsburg Arena.
Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images

Augsburg brought the first weekend of action in the Bundesliga in 2015 to a close with a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim which lifts them up to fifth in the standings.

In a game played in wintry conditions, Halil Altintop and Tobias Werner put Augsburg in control of things before Roberto Firmino pulled a goal back on the stroke of halftime.

Augsburg continued to have the better of things in the second half, though, and added a third late on through Raul Bobadilla to seal a seventh home win of the season.

Punctually at the end of the Bundesliga's winter break, the snow arrived in Bavaria to greet the two sides at the Augsburg Arena.

In the first half, which was played in a blizzard, it was the hosts who adapted best to the conditions. Bobadilla headed over from a free-kick as they took the game to their guests, taking the lead in the 39th minute.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg -- impressing on his debut on loan from Bayern Munich -- sent in a perfect cross for Altintop to nod in in true centre-forward style from five yards out.

Just three minutes later, Werner curled in a free kick from the right which was missed by a pack of players, including Ragnar Klavan, whose presence in front of Oliver Baumann ultimately put the Hoffenheim goalkeeper off as the ball flew in.

Hoffenheim did not lie down, though, and another free kick three minutes later saw them pull a goal back with Firmino flicking the ball on with his head and beating Alex Manninger in his top right-hand corner.

The snow stopped at the start of the second half, but Augsburg's attacks did not.

Paul Verhaegh's cross for Werner was asking to be put in, but Werner failed to make good enough contact with the ball.

Hoffenheim's David Abraham then got caught in two minds and gifted Dong-Won Ji the chance to increase Augsburg's lead, but Baumann saved his defender's blushes with a block as the snow started to fall once again.

As the snow started to settle, Hoffenheim launched a late assault, but Manninger made a fine save to turn Tobias Strobl's header behind for a corner and preserve his side's lead.

In extra time, Bobadilla raced through and, using the slippery conditions to his advantage beat the last defender and struck a low shot to seal victory in stoppage time.