Erik ten Hag's first Bundesliga competition with Bayer Leverkusen ended in a defeat when Hoffenheim won 2-1 in the Bayarena.
Match -Events
0 'The game is about to start!
6 'goal! Leverkusen 1-0 Hoffenheim (Jarell Quansah)
25 'goal! Leverkusen 1-1 Hoffenheim (Fisnik Asllani)
33 'Highlight of Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim
50 'Match event for Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim
52 'goal! Leverkusen 1-2 Hoffenheim (Tim Lemperle)
78 'Match event for Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim
Match report
Fisnik Asllani played for the visitors, leveled the score after the opener of Jarell Quansah and then assisted the winner of Tim Lemperle to help Hoffenheim to start their competition campaign with a large triumph en route.
Leverkusen started quickly, with Quansah who scored for six minutes in his Bundesliga debut after connecting to the free kick of Alejandro Grimaldo and along Oliver Baumann.
On the other hand, Quansah was caught cold when Asllani succeeded in avoiding him in the box before he shot past Mark Flekken on the nearby pole to be tied in the 25th minute.
The defense of Leverkusen was again questioned when Hoffenheim took the lead for seven minutes in the second half.
The hosts were unable to treat a long ball from Baumann and Asllani, made full use of and imposed it for Lemperle to hit the left of the box in the top left corner.
The side of ten Hag insisted on an equalizer, where Nathan Tella came closest when he hit the side in the 78th minute, but their efforts turned out to be fruitless.
pic.twitter.com/ytmhvujfin
– TSG Hoffenheim (@tshoffenheim) August 23, 2025
Debrief data: Hoffenheim Snap Losing Streak
Hoffenheim started on Saturday's meeting and had lost their last five Bundesliga matches against Leverkusen.
Asllani, however, helped them to turn the tables. The 23-year-old registered most shots in the competition (three), created joint opportunities (two) and completed the second most fit in the last third for his side (eight).
It was a game of some clear opportunities, as demonstrated by expected goals (XG) figures of 0.65 for Leverkusen and 0.57 for Hoffenheim, but it was the visitors who made the most out of their chances.
Leverkusen are now four Bundesliga games without a victory – the last time they went more in a row without a victory was in April/May 2023 (five).
Line-ups
Leverkusen XI: Grimaldo, Mark Flekken, Andrich, Schick, A.GarcÃa, Tapsoba, Tella, Hincapie, Quansah, Arthur, Ibrahim Maza
Subs: Janis Blaswich, Lomb, Ernest Poku, Echeverri, Sarco, Andrea Natali, Axel Tape, Jeremiah Mensah, Christian Kofane
Hoffenheim Xi: Oliver Baumann, Kramaric, VladimÃr Coufal, Bernardo, Koki Machida, Wouter Burger, Robin Hranac, Tim Lemperle, Fisnik Asllani, Leon Avdullahu, Bazoumana Touré
Subs: Akpoguma, Grischa Prömel, Luca Philipp, Alexander Prass, Arthur Chaves, Umut Tohumcu, Muhammed Damar, David Mokwa, Max Moerstedt