Three games, three statements: HSV's special Leipzig memories | OneFootball

The starting point could hardly be more difficult: after two defeats at the start, HSV now face a tough away match of all things at Champions League participants RB Leipzig.

Accordingly, many fans have little hope of the long-awaited first points of the season. But although Hamburg will of course go into Sunday afternoon’s match (3:30 p.m., DAZN) as clear underdogs, there is still reason for optimism. Their Saxon opponents have not exactly made an impressive start to the new campaign either and only last weekend lost 3-1 at Werder Bremen. On top of that, RB are still in Champions League action on Thursday.

Another reason for encouragement: although the overall Bundesliga record is clearly stacked against the Rothosen, with four defeats, one draw and just one win, the last three trips to Leipzig, nearly 400 kilometers away, have all ended in success of one kind or another — or at least a respectable result.

HSV dominated in Leipzig as a promoted side

That was the case for Hamburg last season. On Matchday 7, just a few weeks after returning to the Bundesliga, HSV traveled to the trade fair city as complete underdogs. Coming off a 4-0 home win over 1. FSV Mainz 05, Merlin Polzin’s team nevertheless delivered a more than respectable performance. Although the match ultimately ended in a 2-1 defeat despite a goal from Sambi Lokonga, observers agreed: the promoted side had produced a top-class display. In fact, possession, passing and shots statistics all favored the Hanseatic side. They just fell a little short of taking a point.

A sensational point in the middle of the relegation battle

HSV managed that more than seven years earlier, in January 2018. In their relegation season, the northern club disappointed for long stretches across the board, and on Matchday 20 traveled to Leipzig as second from bottom to face the reigning runners-up. Under new coach Bernd Hollerbach, who had only taken over from the dismissed Markus Gisdol a few days earlier, they earned a completely unexpected point against Timo Werner, Marcel Sabitzer and company. Filip Kostic canceled out the early 1-0 deficit in the 29th minute after an assist from Gideon Jung. HSV then held on to that result with plenty of fight and even more passion. But it all came to nothing: just under four months later, the club’s first relegation in its history was confirmed.

Photo: IMAGO

A resounding win that sent a message

Hamburg very nearly went down a year earlier. In the 2016/17 season, the Bundesliga dinosaur of the time only secured survival on Matchday 34 with a 2-1 home win over VfL Wolfsburg. But what happened on February 11, 2017, was also crucial on the road to staying up. Back then too, the crisis-hit HSV visited an in-form Leipzig side on Matchday 20. Despite all the bad omens, Gisdol’s men produced one of their best performances of the season. They won 3-0 at RB in clear and emphatic fashion. The goals came from Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Walace and Aaron Hunt. “We were perfectly prepared for the opponent,” goalkeeper René Adler said afterwards — and he was absolutely right. So HSV do know how to get a result in Leipzig!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.