No early Christmas gift

Frank Kramer made three changes to his side after a disappointing defeat to Hamburger SV last week. Tobias Weis returned to the team after an injury enforced absence in place of Daniel Williams and Sven Schipplock and Stephan Schröck were favoured ahead of Roberto Firmino and Eren Derdiyok.

Both sides started with incredibly intensity as Hoffenheim countered their visitors' pressing with pressure of their own. Strong challenges and smart positional play made real chances hard to come by for both sides. It was the hosts who threatened first though, when Compper beat Weidenfeller to a deep free kick from Salihovic. Unfortunately, his header landed on top of the net rather than in it as the home side sought to upset the odds and take the lead against the defending champions. Just as Hoffenheim thought they were in the game, Dortmund took the lead. Gündogan's through ball found Leitner, who touched it off to Mario Götze just outside the box on the left-hand side. The German international then cut inside before driving an effort through Beck and past Casteels to open the scoring. Kramer's men nearly responded instantly but Schipplock just couldn't get a touch to Kevin Volland's cross. Dortmund then came again as Casteels was forced into a low save from an on-rushing Lewandowski.

Good things come in threes

Urged on by their home support, Hoffenheim battled to find an equaliser. Fabian Johnson fed a superb through ball between the Dortmund defence for Volland to run onto. Hoffenheim's young star showed great composure to tuck the ball back into the box where Sven Schipplock finished with ease to level the scores. Three great passes and Hoffenheim had battled back, a scoreline which remained unchanged before the break as Hoffenheim held firm. Sadly for the home team, it wasn't long before Dortmund doubled their tally. Götze turned towards the area before feeding through Reus, who in turn slid the ball across for Großkreutz to slot the ball home and put the defending champions back into the lead. Moments later, they nearly went two goals ahead when Lewandowski met Reus' free kick but it went wide of the far post.

Hoffenheim looked to get themselves back into the game but, despite Kramer making some changes, Dortmund continued to look the more likely to score. Sure enough, they found the back of the net again when Lewandowski broke through and rounded Casteels before finishing into the far corner. Despite their best efforts, the home side struggled to get back into the game. Casteels made a couple of saves in the latter stages to deny Dortmund from adding to their scoreline but in the end there was no change as Hoffenheim just couldn't replicate their first-half display in the second.

This game against Dortmund marks the end of the first half of the season for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. After a poor start, there seemed to be a recovery on the cards but recent form has left many worried. One thing is for sure, the winter break provides the perfect chance for all involved with the club to recover and come back revitalised in January for an important second half of the season.

Jonathan Harding

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: Casteels – Beck, Delpierre, Compper, Johnson – Weis (70' Roberto Firmino), Rudy – Schröck, Volland (62' Ochs), Salihovic – Schipplock (62' Joselu)

Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller – Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Blaszczykowski – Gündogan, Leitner – Großkreutz (74' Perisic), Götze (89' Hofmann), Reus (83' Kirch) - Lewandowski

Goals: 1-0 Götze (26'), 1-1 Schipplock (35'), 2-1 Großkreutz (58'), 3-1 Lewandowski (66'), Yellow cards: Weis, Attendance: 30,150, Referee: Florian Meyer

Match facts and statistics »