Monchengladbach win, Hoffenheim tie in German Bundesliga
Xinhua, February 27, 2017 Adjust font size:
Monchengladbach secured a 2-0 win over Ingolstadt owing to two second-half goals, whereas Hoffenheim ensured a late 1-1 draw against Schalke to complete the 22nd round of Bundesliga action on Sunday.
Borussia Monchengladbach returned to winning ways after edging relegation-threatened Ingolstadt 2-0 on the second-half goals from Lars Stindl and Andre Hahn.
Both teams staged a slow start into the encounter, as both goalkeepers had almost nothing to do due to the lack of goal scoring opportunities.
However, things changed after the restart as Monchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer was on guard to deny Marvin Matip's dangerous header on target 54 minutes into the game.
Dieter Hecking's men cut a better figure in front of Ingolstadt's goal area, as Lars Stindl's deflected a flicked on corner into the goal to open the scoring account with an hour played.
Ingolstadt pressed frenetically for the equalizer and were caught off-guard in the dying seconds of the game, as Andre Hahn finished off a counterattack to put the 2-0 win beyond doubt thanks to an assist from substitute Mahmoud Dahoud.
With the result, Monchengladbach moved from 11th to 10th place, while Ingolstadt stay on 17th place, which is a direct relegation spot.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim held Schalke to a 1-1 draw as Sebastian Rudy's leveller snatched the stalemate on the road.
The Royal Blues caught a fairy-tale start after Alessadnro Schoepf broke the deadlock following a square pass from Guido Burgstaller in the 5th minute.
Schalke retracted with the lead behind them and ceased their offensive push, allowing Hoffenheim to take over.
With that, Julian Nagelsmann's men punished Schalke as Sebastian Rudy restored parity after heading home Steven Zuber's cross into the box in the closing period.
With the draw, Schalke slipped from 10th to 12th position, while Hoffenheim stay in 4th place on the Bundesliga table. Endit