Bahoya and Santos on the training pitch | OneFootball

The duo completed parts of Wednesday’s session as preparations for the home game against Hamburger SV got under way.

A low pass on the left wing, Jean-Mattéo Bahoya carries the ball, briefly lifts his head up and drills it low into the middle, where Jonathan Burkardt finishes directly into the net past Kaua Santos. Michy Batshuayi applauds and sends some warm words in the direction of the young Frenchman. Both Santos and Bahoya were welcomed back by their teammates, head coach Albert Riera and staff as they completed parts of team training on Wednesday morning following their spells on the sidelines.

There were glorious blue skies over the training pitches at Deutsche Bank Park, and the rising temperatures can only mean one thing: the business end of the season. It’s crunch time in the Bundesliga, with just three matchdays left to play. “We had a good week of training behind us and need another week with the same attitude, atmosphere and intensity – then we desperately want the three points at home,” said Riera after the draw against FC Augsburg at the weekend and ahead of the meeting with Hamburger SV on Saturday 2 May (15:30 CEST). Jens Grahl and Nnamdi Collins sat out the session, while Michael Zetterer worked individually.

Bahoya later moved to the adjacent pitch and continued with a running session. For the rest of the group, the keyword was finishing. With the two goals around 30 metres apart, the players went for goal in teams of between one and three. Every successful bit of play, whether offensive or defensive, drew cheers and applause from the players who were resting: team spirit was high, and there was no holding back on the field.

Hopefully this will also be the case in three days, when the Eagles will be aiming to hit the net just a few steps away from the training ground at Deutsche Bank Park.