Top effort from Augsburg

Halil Altintop scored two as Augsburg beat Hoffenheim 2-0 to stabilise themselves in the middle of the Bundesliga table.

Halil Altintop scored two goals as Augsburg beat Hoffenheim 2-0 to stabilise themselves in the middle of the Bundesliga table. Altintop scored his 50th goal in the Bundesliga in the 17th minute and added his second tally of the day six minutes later. Augsburg collected their second victory in the last eight matches to improve to 16 points. Hoffenheim have lost three straight matches and won just once in their last eight to remain on 13 points. Hoffenheim had the first chance after four minutes as Kevin Volland passed forward to Roberto Firmino whose shot was directed wide by Augsburg keeper Marwin Hitz. Augsburg took the lead in the 17th minute as Hoffenheim keeper Koen Casteels blocked Matthias Ostrzolek's shot but Altintop pounced on the loose ball to hit home from six yards out. The hosts doubled the advantage six minutes later after a defensive miscue from Hoffenheim's Sejad Sehovic. He lost the ball to Andre Hahn and a cross into the middle found Altintop, who converted just inside the right post. Augsburg nearly went 3-0 up after 32 minutes as Casteels could not hold onto a shot. Arkadiusz Milik struck home but was flagged for offside. Hitz kept his sheet clean with a fine save three minutes later, stopping an Anthony Modeste shot with Rangar Klavan clearing the loose ball at the line. The hosts marched forward immediately thereafter and again were close to a three-goal advantage but Hahn's shot went just off target. Hoffenheim failed to really challenge the hosts' goal until the 84th minute but Sven Schipplock missed the target.