A night of inaccuracies blights Hoffenheim in Steaua stalemate

TSG Hoffenheim's chances of reaching the UEFA Europa League knockout rounds took a dent tonight after a disappointing scoreless stalemate against Steaua Bucharest at the PreZero Arena. The Sinsheim club enjoyed the lion's share of possession, but struggled to make their dominance count in the final third as the visitors from the Romanian capital held firm. Hoffenheim will likely end the night outside the twenty-four qualification places with two fixtures remaining.

Christian Ilzer's men looked the likelier of the two teams to open the scoring as TSG spurned a decent chance on 3 minutes. Andrej Kramarić teed up Bruun-Larsen but the Dane fired wide from 14 yards. The game stumbled upon an uneventful patch until the 36th-minute when Steaua constructed a fine opportunity. Darius Olaru fed Adrian Sut, however the midfielder's effort met Oliver Baumann's midriff. A final header from Jacob Bruun-Larsen was off target before the break.

Maximilian Moerstedt was introduced by Ilzer for the start of the second-half as Adam Hložek's evening came to an end. However the game continued in a rather scrappy manner with yellow cards aplenty. David Miculescu picked up a caution for the visitors while both Arthur Chaves and Maximilian Moerstedt were equally brandished with the yellow warning after duels with Tanase and Popescu respectively.

Hoffenheim suddenly awoke from their slumber after the hour and increased the tempo. Anton Stach spurned a gilt-edged opportunity as he skied a Pavel Kadeřábek cross, meanwhile Stefan Tarnovanu was equal to Moerstedt's header in the following sequence. Ultimately, the revival would be shortlived as Bucharest were content to take the point on the road while a night of inaccuracies cost Hoffenheim dearly.