Conté and Prass give Hoffenheim the lead

Hoffenheim took the lead in the 11th minute. Alexander Prass played the ball flat into the box from the left, and Bambasé Conté finished with his left foot from about twelve metres into the right-hand corner. Gladbach answered straight after the break. Florian Neuhaus drove through the centre and found Wael Mohya on the left, and the teenager struck a right-footed shot into the far corner for 1-1 in the 49th minute.

The visitors restored their lead in the 54th minute. Conté built the move down the right, Adam Hlozek backheeled the ball on in the box, and Prass hit a left-footed shot from about twelve metres into the right corner for 2-1.

Chances and a difficult home debut

Hoffenheim kept creating chances after its second goal. Hlozek hit the post in the 58th minute, and goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas repeatedly kept the score down. Earlier, Fisnik Asllani struck a free kick from the edge of the box against the bar in the 42nd minute. Joe Scally's late shot was deflected and went wide, and Hoffenheim saw out the result.

The match was Blessin's first home game in charge after the derby defeat at 1. FC Köln. Seven regular players were unavailable, including captain Tim Kleindienst, who is injured again with a muscle fibre tear. Kevin Diks needed treatment for a cut above his eyebrow early on but returned to play. The 43,702 spectators at the Borussia-Park included 250 away fans, and the home supporters whistled their team off at half-time.

Diks and Blessin on the defeat

After the match, Diks spoke about the struggle to find a result.

“We have to keep going. I know it is hard for everyone at Borussia, but we simply have to keep going and work for the points.”

Blessin was more direct in his assessment of his side's defending on DAZN. He said Gladbach could defend much better, and he pointed to the way the team had chased and failed to block.

“We can defend much, much better. We chase, we don't block.”

Blessin also criticised the team's play in the final ten minutes of the first half, when Gladbach passed the ball back on every move. He called it "scaredy-cat football" and said he had told the players so.

Gladbach's winless start in context

Gladbach is the only Bundesliga club still without a point. Its six league defeats to open the season are a rare start, and the club is the fourth team in Bundesliga history to remain without a point after six matchdays, after Fortuna Düsseldorf in 1991, FSV Mainz 05 in 2020 and VfL Bochum in 2022. Mainz and Bochum avoided relegation in the end. Gladbach now trails the new second-last side, Union Berlin, by five points.

Hoffenheim ended a run of four consecutive competitive defeats and moved up from 17th to 14th in the table. Both sides are struggling near the bottom of the league, and the result leaves Gladbach under growing pressure.