Bitter HSV truth: survival depends on results elsewhere! | OneFootball

HSV did not play a bad game against TSG Hoffenheim. In many statistics, they were even on par with or superior to the side from Kraichgau.

And yet, the team ended up with zero points once again — just as in the previous three matches and in four of the last five games. Despite a clear improvement in performance compared to the poor displays in Bremen and Stuttgart, HSV made too many critical mistakes.

Or, as Merlin Polzin put it: “In the end, what matters is how you defend and how you convert your chances up front. And we can do that better, because we’ve already shown that we can.”

Polzin is both right and wrong. Yes, HSV have already shown this season at both ends of the pitch that they can do better. But the truth is also that this proof of their own ability now goes back weeks, if not months. Since the beginning of March, only VfL Wolfsburg and Union Berlin have picked up fewer points in the league.

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HSV benefit from weak competition at the bottom

The fact that their lead over the relegation playoff spot has shrunk by only one point despite three defeats in a row is due solely to the lack of results from their rivals. Neither FC St. Pauli nor Wolfsburg have managed to take advantage of the Rothosen’s poor run of form. Or to put it another way: only thanks to Heidenheim’s help can the promoted side look ahead to the final three matchdays with any real sense of calm.

Nur die Raute – All the news about HSV

The bitter realization, however, is that in the coming weeks they will have to hope for similar gifts from the other Bundesliga clubs. Given their own poor form as well as the brutally tough run-in featuring clashes with Frankfurt, Freiburg, and Leverkusen, HSV fans cannot and should not count on their team picking up more points.

From a Hanseatic point of view, all that remains is to hope that the strong spell at the start of the second half of the season will be enough for survival. It is possible that HSV built the decisive cushion there to come through a barren stretch like the current one unscathed. But whether that is really the case will also be determined by two northern rivals.

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