Hamburg return to the Bundesliga after seven years with 6-1 demolition of Ulm
HAMBURG, Germany : Six-time German champions Hamburg SV earned a triumphant promotion back to the Bundesliga after a seven-year absence, with Saturday's 6-1 demolition of Ulm guaranteeing them a top two finish in the second division with a game left to play.
The 1983 European Cup winners, once nicknamed the Bundesliga 'dinosaurs' for having been in the top division for the longest uninterrupted spell since the league's creation in 1963, suffered a shock first ever relegation in 2018.
They then repeatedly missed chances to go back up, losing key matches in the final stretches of previous seasons, but they would not be denied promotion this time.
Ulm stunned the hosts with a seventh minute lead through Tom Gaal but Hamburg bounced back just three minutes later to level with Ludovit Reis.
Ulm then saw Semir Telalovic' 36th minute penalty saved by Hamburg keeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes before the hosts struck twice late in the first half through Ransford-Yeboah Koenigsdoerffer's superb chip and Davie Selke's 22nd league goal to earn a commanding lead.
They picked up where they left off and made it 4-1 thanks to Philipp Strompf's own goal in the 49th before Koenigsdoerffer bagged his second with a solo effort and low drive from the edge of the box. Daniel Efadli made it half a dozen in the 86th as fans gathered around the pitch to storm it on the final whistle.
With one game remaining, Hamburg are top on 59 points, with Cologne second on 58 and Elversberg third on 55.
The third-placed team goes into a promotion/relegation playoff with the 16th team of the Bundesliga. Ulm are relegated to the third division.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
Italy struggle but give sacked Spalletti winning send-off against Moldova
ITALY :Sacked Italy manager Luciano Spalletti bowed out with a victory after his side laboured to an uninspired 2-0 home win over Moldova in their World Cup qualification match on Monday thanks to goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Andrea Cambiaso. Spalletti announced his own dismissal on Sunday following Italy's 3-0 loss in Norway in their opening group game on Friday, but took charge for one final time where again the performance showed why a change of leadership was required. Norway, who won 1-0 in Estonia with Erling Haaland netting the winner, top Group I on 12 points from four games, with Israel on six points after three matches while Italy are third with three points from their two games. "I asked the guys to let me go out with a victory," Spalletti told Sky Sport shortly before kickoff. While his players duly obliged, it was perhaps a fitting end to Spalletti's time on the bench as another lacklustre showing failed to light up a far from full Stadio Citta del Tricolore. With Italy's slow, predictable build-up play failing to break through the visitors' rearguard, the hosts were given an early wake-up call when Ion Nicolaescu found the net only for his goal to be ruled out for offside. Italy's first threat came when defender Luca Ranieri, making his international debut, hit the crossbar with a header, and they found the breakthrough five minutes before the break. A headed clearance fell to Raspadori in the box who struck first time into the bottom corner but Moldova almost levelled before halftime when Oleg Reabciuk's shot from distance was parried away by Gianluigi Donnarumma. Artur Ionita's follow-up effort went wide of the far post and Daniel Dumbravanu's header from a corner was cleared off the line by Federico Dimarco as Italy hung onto their lead. Italy doubled their lead five minutes into the second half when substitute Riccardo Orsolini sent a low cross into the area which Davide Frattesi knocked on to Cambiaso who fired past keeper Cristian Avram. The two-goal cushion failed to inspire Italy. Frattesi was sent through on goal from a ball over the top by Alessandro Bastoni but he sent his shot straight at the keeper and Moldova continued to create chances of their own. "We struggled again tonight," Spalletti told Rai Sport. "When you are the coach of the national team you cannot have alibis because he chooses the players and if they don't do well he can change them." Spalletti's name was booed by large sections of the crowd when read out before kickoff, and the game failed to improve the mood, and Italian fans will hope for better when a replacement, rumoured to be Claudio Ranieri, is installed.
CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
Italy give sacked Spalletti winning send-off against Moldova
ITALY :Sacked Italy manager Luciano Spalletti bowed out with a victory after his side laboured to an uninspired 2-0 home win over Moldova in their World Cup qualification match on Monday thanks to goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Andrea Cambiaso. Spalletti announced his own dismissal on Sunday following Italy's 3-0 loss in Norway in their opening group game on Friday, but took charge for one final time at the Stadio Citta del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia. Italy struggled early on before Raspadori put the hosts ahead five minutes before the break and Cambiaso doubled the lead five minutes after the interval but they failed to build on their two-goal cushion. Norway, who won 1-0 in Estonia with Erling Haaland netting the winner, top Group I on 12 points from four games, with Israel on six points after three matches while Italy are third with three points from their two games.
CNA
10 hours ago
- CNA
Czech Lehecka opens grass campaign with win in Stuttgart
Rising Czech force Jiri Lehecka began his Wimbledon build-up in impressive fashion with a 6-4 6-4 defeat of Benjamin Bonzi in the opening round of the Stuttgart Open on Monday. The eighth seed, whose last match on grass was in the Wimbledon fourth round in 2023, quickly got up to speed to overpower Bonzi, firing down 13 aces. Lehecka, 23, will face 2023 Stuttgart runner-up Jan-Lennard Struff next after he thumped down 30 aces during a 6-4 6-4 victory over Italy's Matteo Arnaldi, his first win against a top-50 opponent this season. American sixth seed Brandon Nakashima came through a battle against Britain's Jacob Fearnley, winning 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1. Top seed at the ATP 250 event is Alexander Zverev.
