The circle closes: When HSV last faced Mönchengladbach | OneFootball

With an away game at Borussia Mönchengladbach, HSV returns to the Bundesliga. Curiously, their last appearance in the top flight was also against today’s opponent.

On May 12, 2018, Hamburger SV hosted the Fohlen in a sold-out Volksparkstadion. A win was necessary to avoid direct relegation. At the same time, VfL Wolfsburg had to lose to already relegated 1. FC Köln. The Hanseatic team, coached by Christian Titz, therefore only had a minimal chance of staying in the league, but they were determined to seize it and started off dominantly. The result was an early 1-0 lead. Aaron Hunt converted a penalty after referee Dr. Felix Brych, with VAR assistance, penalized a handball by Denis Zakaria.

HSV continued to be the superior team but conceded a surprising equalizer. Josip Drmic—who had played in Hamburg on loan for half a year in 2016—finished off a cleverly executed counterattack in the 28th minute to make it 1-1. The pattern on the pitch remained the same. The second-to-last in the table—not only playing attractive football under Titz but also collecting 13 points in eight matches—continued to set the tone and were repeatedly denied by Yann Sommer, whose career would later take him to the Champions League final with Inter. Lewis Holtby, one of the key players in the final stretch, scored the deserved 2-1 (63’) after an assist from the industrious Tatsuya Ito.

HSV Relegation: Unforgettable Scenes in the Stands

Soon after, the once again underperforming Bobby Wood saw a second yellow card. Nevertheless, HSV’s lead was never seriously threatened. However, the strong performance had no sporting relevance, as Wolfsburg, despite a temporary equalizer by Köln, never let things slip. With the 3-1 scoreline, even the greatest optimists realized that the first relegation after 55 years in the Bundesliga could no longer be avoided. The Hamburg fans reacted remarkably, singing the now traditional pre-match anthem “Mein Hamburg lieb ich sehr” with deep passion.

(Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)

The actually very dignified farewell, however, faded into the background. For some supporters let their frustration run free and fired pyrotechnics onto the pitch. The police then entered the field en masse—even the mounted unit was involved. After a lengthy interruption, Brych allowed the match to resume with police officers in the background, only to blow the final whistle immediately. Before that, Wolfsburg had increased their lead to 4-1 against Köln, sealing HSV’s first ever relegation to the second division.

Hamburger SV – Borussia Mönchengladbach 2:1

HSV: Pollersbeck,-Sakai, Papadopoulos, Jung, Santos,-Steinmann (78. Ekdal),-Kostic (82. Jatta), Holtby (89. Waldschmidt), Hunt, Ito,-Wood

Gladbach: Sommer,-Elvedi, Ginter, Vestergaard, Wendt,-Kramer, Zakaria (57. Cuisance),-Hofmann (57. Traoré), Hazard (78. Grifo),-Raffael,-Drmic

Nur die Raute – All news about HSV

The Bundesliga dinosaur became extinct. A quick return to the Bundesliga was widely expected. Instead, HSV—whose second division story is well known—once again took a unique path. In the past season, they were even the club that spent the longest time in the 2. Bundesliga. After seven years, the “Rothosen” celebrated their long-awaited liberation. They secured promotion on the penultimate matchday with a spectacular 6-1 win over Ulm. After 2,660 days, they meet Borussia Mönchengladbach again, bringing the story full circle.

In May 2018, Bakery Jatta—who will miss tomorrow’s game due to injury and likely won’t play a major role for the rest of the season—was the only current player to wear the HSV jersey. On the other side, Nico Elvedi played the full match and is expected to be in the starting lineup again today. Last week, he sent the Fohlen into the second round of the cup with his 3-2 winning goal against Delmenhorst. Since joining Borussia in 2015, Elvedi has only won one of four encounters with HSV. If this record doesn’t improve, Hamburg will likely be celebrating a successful Bundesliga comeback.

(Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.