Match report

Valiant HSV beaten 1-0 by FC Bayern

Hamburger SV suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to record champions FC Bayern Munich in Saturday’s late game on matchday 9 in the Bundesliga. The Rothosen had to play with ten men for around 50 minutes following Gideon Jung’s dismissal, with the winning goal coming from Corentin Tolisso shortly after the restart.

A sold-out Volksparkstadion saw a real battling display from Hamburg right from the off, with Gisdol’s boys also causing a number of problems for the visiting defenders. However, Marco Fritz’s decision to show a straight red to Gideon Jung for a professional foul on a countering Kingsley Coman after 39 minutes made HSV’s task significantly trickier. Hamburg continued to put up a real fight, but were unable to stop Corentin Tolisso from slotting home what turned out to be the winning goal in the 52nd minute.

Gideon Jung's foul on Kingsley Coman was punished with a red card, leaving HSV to battle with ten men for 50 minutes.

VALIANT HSV

HSV coach Markus Gisdol opted for a different system against the defending Bundesliga champions. Mavraj, Papadopoulos and van Drongelen made up a back three, with Diekmeier and Santos out on the flanks, dropping into a back five when Bayern were in possession. Sakai and Jung’s job was to sweep up in the centre of midfield, though the latter took the instructions a little literally as he brought down Coman on a breakaway six minutes before half time.

After some discussion, referee Marco Fritz opted to show Jung a red card, a bitter decision for HSV as the hosts had been giving as good as they were getting against the favourites from Munich. Jung had been in the centre of things too, having the best chance after nicking the ball off Mats Hummels in the FCB box, but Ulreich & Co. scrambled back just in time to clear the danger. It was a moment that in no way was out of character for the match, but that was to change in the second half for the now ten-man Rothosen.

Filip Kostic came on for the closing 15 minutes and almost set up a late equaliser.

SENDING-OFF DECISIVE

The first half was a tight affair, but the sending-off meant Hamburg had to defend more deeply. There were moments in the first 45 where HSV had come close to scoring, but going down to ten men left more space in the middle of the park and the team tired as the half progressed. They didn’t have masses of chances but Bayern were clinical when it counted; Tolisso slotted home after a cross wasn’t cleared and the away side had broken the deadlock. Being a man down made the task even harder, but Hamburg continued to plug away, defending compactly and trying to break with speed on the counter.

Markus Gisdol made an attacking double change with 76 minutes gone, Ito and Kostic coming on for Hahn and van Drongelen. It injected some energy into the team, and particularly Ito looked dangerous going forward with some slick dribbling skills. The match was on tenterhooks until the final whistle, but Kostic and Wood couldn’t quite combine to find a late equaliser. Despite having no points to show for, HSV left the pitch to applause from the home supporters for their valiant performance.

Match facts:

Hamburger SV: Mathenia - Papadopoulos, Mavraj, van Drongelen (76’ Ito) - Diekmeier, Jung, Sakai, Douglas - Hahn (76’ Kostic), Hunt (61’ Holtby) - Wood

FC Bayern Munich: Ulreich - Rafinha, Süle, Hummels, Alaba - Vidal, Tolisso - Robben, James (46’ Müller, 55’ Thiago), Coman (90+2’ Kimmich) - Lewandowski

Goals: 0-1 Tolisso (52’)

Attendance: 57,000 (sold out)

Referee: Marco Fritz

Yellow cards: Sakai (73’) / James (45’), Tolisso (75’)

Red cards: Jung (39’)