TSG 1899 Hoffenheim earned a resounding 5-2 victory against relegation threatened FC Ingolstadt 04 on Matchday 23 in the Bundesliga season. It wasn't without threat however and it took three late goals from die Kraichgauer to see the Bavarian side off.

Sebastian Rudy had opened the scoring early on for the Sinsheim based outfit with a cracking long range strike, but Almog Cohen had leveled for die Schanzer after a neat move from Maik Walpurgis' side just before the break.

A shock seemed on the cards when Niklas Süle turned a Pascal Groß corner kick into his own net, but Ádam Szalai equalised almost instatantaneuosly before Andrej Kramarić turned the scoring around. Szalai got his second shortly after, before former Ingolstadt man Benjamin Hübner added insult to injury by adding a fifth in late on. 

A story of two superb goals

Hoffenheim, and Sandro Wagner in particular, immediately believed they should have had a penalty after Marvin Matip appeared to handle the former SV Darmstadt 98 striker's first time effort, however referee Bastian Dankert spared the blushes of the Cameroonian defender and waved any appeals away. The FC Ingolstadt 04 captain, Matip, did however have his hand tight into his body, and any decision would've been extremely harsh.

Nevertheless, Julian Nagelsmann's men wouldn't have to wait long for an opener as the first goal of the game came only minutes later. After scoring the equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Schalke last weekend, it was once again Sebastian Rudy that beat Martin Hansen for his second goal of the season in quick succession. The Bayern Munich bound midfielder picked up the ball from deep, before unleashing a thunderous effort from around 30 yards out that gave the Ingolstadt 'keeper, Hansen, no chance.

Key to Hoffenheim's success under the Bundesliga's youngest manager has been defensive stability. Indeed, die Kraichgauer have amassed some 6 clean-sheets so far this season and crucial to this has been the trio of Niklas Süle, Benjamin Hübner and Kevin Vogt. Along with Rudy, Süle, once linked with Liverpool FC amongst others, will be heading to Bayern Munich in the summer and already looks to be a future German international; having made his debut in a friendly against Finland last summer. Hübner meanwhile, was up against the side with which he spent two years, including being crowned 2. Bundesliga champions in 2015.

With only one home defeat since Nagelsmann took over last February, it would've seemed a certainty that die Kraichgauer were destined for a further three points. But against all the odds, Ingolstadt leveled on the cusp of half time. Almog Cohen with a pin-point finish beyond Oliver Baumann into the bottom right corner, after Darío Lezcano had set the Israeli international up after some quick thinking by Florian Hadergjonaj allowed the Paraguayuan to receive the ball in the box. The former 1. FC Nürnberg man with his fourth of the season, the same as he has managed in his previous six Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga seasons combined. 

Early scare, but Hoffenheim push on for victory

Marco Terrazzino tested Hansen from long distance, before die Schanzer had a penalty shout of their own at the start of the second half. Cohen looked to be getting his shot off on the edge of the box, before being caught by a stray Süle foot. Unlike Wagner's claim in the first half, there appeared to be much more in this one.

It took Hansen's out-stretched palm to keep Kerim Demirbay's long range effort out of the Ingolstadt goal and almost instantly after, Maik Walpurgis' men went straight down the other end and silenced the Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena. A Pascal Groß corner kick, the 25-year-old up against the side with which he came through the youth system some six years ago, met the head of Süle, but rather than clearing the ball the young defender instead deflected the ball into the back of the Hoffenheim goal. It was only the third time this season, that the Bavarian side have scored more than one away from the Audi Sportpark.

The Ingolstadt lead wouldn't last long however. Almost instantaneously after, Nadiem Amiri had been fouled. Rudy stepped up and delivered the ball from deep, for Ádam Szalai to rise the highest and guide a header into the far corner beyond a hapless Martin Hansen. It was the Hungarian striker's third goal of the month following a double in the 4-0 trouncing of 1. FSV Mainz 05, but for Maik Walpurgis' side to concede their lead so soon after going ahead will have been a serious frustration for the former Sportfreunde Lotte and VfL Osnabrück manager.  

Therefore, the 43-year-old will no doubt have been even more furious when it came to die Kraichgauer's third then. Amiri finding himself in acres of space, before reversing the ball to an unmarked Andrej Kramarić, who was able to toe poke the ball beyond an advancing Hansen. It got even worse shortly after for Walpurgis too, as Szalai got his second and Hoffenheim's fourth as he stroked Amiri's ball home in what was becoming an increasingly abject performance from die Schanzer.

It could've been very different as well. Prior to Hoffenheim's third, Lezcano and then Markus Suttner had seen close range effort magnificently saved by the former SC Freiburg 'keeper, Baumann. It may have very well been the turning point in the game at the Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena, as from then on there had been no stopping Nagelmann's impervious Sinsheim based outfit. 

Even more insult to injury was added with the fifth, as it was that man Hübner who compounded to an already morbid scoreline against his old side. A Hoffenheim man once again benefiting from a box bereft of any Ingolstadt marking, as the 27-year-old defender nodded in lofted ball beyond Hansen and the sorry state that remained for an Ingolstadt side. The manor of the collapse perhaps the biggest worry for Walpurgis, as it now looks a long way back for the Bavarian side, who sink ever deeper into the relegation mire with the difficult task of a visit from 1. FC Köln up next. Hoffenheim meanwhile keep up their European push under one of the continent's most exciting managers; a trip to high flying SC Freiburg awaits the Sinsheim club next time out.