After Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt, Leeds United travelled to Norway to face another German side in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Leeds fans were buoyed by the knowledge that The Whites put in a decent performance against a calibre of opponent that they will likely not meet in the Championship. At times, The Whites were opened up by a quality attack but they also showed a composure that was lacking at times during last season in the Championship. So, going into the game in Lillestrøm against Hoffenheim, Leeds and their fans would have a sense of uplifted hope.
That was smashed early on as Hoffenheim’s Mark Uth hit a sweet volley beyond Marco Silvestri in only the 2nd minute of the game. Hoffenheim began to push this advantage and definitely had the better of the following exchanges. Leeds’ first chance came on 9 minutes after a foul on Leeds United new boy Tom Adeyemi. Alex Mowatt lined up the free kick, only for Chris Wood to glance a header wide. This sparked a flurry of activity from both sides as Leeds began to come more into the game. Both sides had chances with first (13′) a Hoffenheim corner leading to a scramble and Sol Bamba having to clear off the line. Lewis Cook went off (15′) after taking an early knock, replaced by Kalvin Phillips. Still the Germans began to push and an Uth header hit the crossbar (20′) but the German had already been flagged offside.
On 21 minutes, Souleymane Doukara provided Leeds with a chance, a glanced header just wide from a Kalvin Philips ball in. Four minutes later (25′) Leeds United had their equaliser, the impressive Doukara playing an important part in the build up. A Mowatt corner in was played on by Sam Byram and a flicked Doukara header ended up with Adeyemi who stroked the ball home on the volley. Still Hoffenheim continued to press and £14m-rated attacking winger/forward Kevin Volland raced through on goal (31′) but a last-ditch challenge from Giuseppe Bellusci prevented Leeds United falling 2-1 behind. Much to’ing-and-fro’ing between the two sides led to almost a football tug-o-war and the only incident of note was a crunching tackle by Kalvin Phillips on Volland which resulted in a yellow card for the Leeds United youngster.
Hoffenheim came out from half time the stronger and again their goalscorer Uth saw a chance hit the woodwork (49′), this time a looping header, but as with the last time the whistle had already gone for an offside. Still the Germans pressed and half time substitute Tarik Elyounoussi raced through on goal but a fine stop from Marco Silvestri denied him the chance to put Hoffenheim 2-1 ahead. Leeds made a substitution on 61 minutes, the impressive Doukara leaving the field and Italian Mirco Antenucci taking his place as Leeds United switched to a 4-4-2 formation. The tide was flowing Hoffenheim’s way and Leeds were fighting against the current to some degree, with The Whites being indebted to a Silvestri save (63′) to deny a Jonathan Schmid free kick.
Leeds United made a change on 65 minutes, left back Charlie Taylor coming off and being replaced by Liam Cooper. Two minutes later (67′) Hoffenheim took the lead, a quick break down Leeds’ left side leading to a cross into the box and a simple tap-in from Steven Zuber from close range. Leeds substitute Antenucci showed good technique to fashion a chance after being played in by Alex Mowatt. With the ball at his feet, the Italian striker worked the defender and created himself some space before firing a shot towards the bottom right corner, a defelction taking the ball wide. Leeds made a double substitution (80′) with Steve ‘The Shift’ Morison and Lee Erwin replacing Chris Wood and Sam Byram; a further change coming on 84 minutes as goalscorer Tom Adeyemi made way for Casper Sloth. Leeds’ final substitution of the game came on 85 minutes as Lewis Walters came on for Alex Mowatt, the game seemingly petering towards a draw.
Then, two chances for Leeds in the space of just over a minute raised the tempo of the game somewhat. First, a ball over the top from Gaetano Berardi (87′) found ‘The Shift’ at full gallop as both he and Mirco Antenucci sprang the offside trap. As the Leeds forwards bore down on the Hoffenheim goal, Morison decided to square to Antenucci but Hoffenheim’s Baumann rushed off his line to gather. Moments later (88′), ‘The Shift’ put in a cross from the right wing and Lee Erwin, a recent substitute hammered a half-volley against one of the Hoffenheim defenders, that spurned chance being the game’s last significant play.
Featured image credit: Svend Karlsen (Twitter)
