Bundesliga match report: Hoffenheim v Hamburg

Hoffenheim narrowed the gap on the top six in the Bundesliga by claiming a 3-0 win over 10-man Hamburg on Saturday.

Eugen Polanski put Markus Gisdol's men in front from the penalty spot after Jaroslav Drobny was given his marching orders midway through the first half.

Polanski added a second late on before Sebastian Rudy completed the scoring in a win which revives Hoffenheim's hopes of playing in Europe next season while leaving Hamburg still on the brink of the bottom three.

Hamburg's hopes of picking anything up in Sinsheim were dealt a blow after just 20 minutes when Drobny came out and felled Sven Schipplock after he had nudged the ball past him.

The penalty was awarded and, consequently, the Hamburg custodian's game was ended.

Mohamed Gouaida was taken off with Rene Adler sent on to face Polanski from the spot, and the Hoffenheim midfielder only just came out on top to put the hosts in front.

From that moment, it all looked too easy for Hoffenheim, but their failure to add a second goal nearly came back to haunt them.

Hamburg coach Josef Zinnbauer took the opportunity to give his team new orders and a different shape for the second half, and it appeared to do the trick.

Cleber went close to equalising, but Oliver Baumann dealt superbly with his first real challenge of the afternoon.

It was too little for Hamburg, though, as Polanski gave Hoffenheim some breathing space in the 81st minute with a clinical finish through the legs of Dennis Diekmeier and beyond Adler's reach.

Six minutes later, Rudy made sure from Kevin Volland's unselfish pass to give Hoffenheim belief that they could still be playing in Europe next season.