Hoffenheim 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen: Burger´s fortuitous finish sends hosts third

Hoffenheim surged up to third place in the Bundesliga after Wouter Burger’s fortuitous finish saw them to a 1-0 home win over Bayer Leverkusen.

Christian Ilzer’s side made it four games unbeaten thanks to a narrow victory at PreZero Arena, moving one point clear of fourth-placed RB Leipzig, who host leaders Bayern Munich later on Saturday.

The contest was decided by a strange ninth-minute opener as Mark Flekken was caught out by Wouter Burger’s right-sided free-kick that sailed over everyone and nestled into the top corner.

Fisnik Asllani and Alexander Prass then forced Flekken into further action in a dominant opening from the hosts, before Patrik Schick was denied by Oliver Baumann.

Prass had another chance early into the second half, but miscued a rebound attempt before Baumann beat away Alejandro Grimaldo’s free-kick effort.

Tim Lemperle then saw a finish ruled out for offside as Hoffenheim held on, largely thanks to defensive heroics from Albian Hajdari and Robin Hranac to deny Schick.

A MASSIVE WIN!!! pic.twitter.com/HfqyJMTUma

— TSG Hoffenheim EN (@tsghoffenheimEN) January 17, 2026

Data Debrief: Home comforts for Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim have now won their last six Bundesliga home matches, after losing five in a row before that.

Ilzer will be pleased with more home success, having narrowly edged Leverkusen in terms of chances created with 1.31 expected goals (xG) to the visitors’ 0.98.

Hoffenheim have also only lost one of their last 11 Bundesliga matches (W8 D2 L1), and a charge for Champions League qualification has become a real probability.

As for Leverkusen, it was more of the same frustration – Burger’s free-kick was the 12th goal they have conceded in this season’s competition from set-pieces.