After his fourth consecutive Bundesliga victory, coach Julian Nagelsmann and TSG Hoffenheim are still hoping to enter the Champions League.
“I’m flirting with that from day one,” said the coach after the 5-2 (2-0) success with the crisis-ridden runner-up Schalke 04 and calculated: “If we win four more times, I think that we can have fourth place.”
The Kraichgau team have been in sixth place in the league since January 2011 with the first three in Gelsenkirchen, and after six games in a row they are at least on the European League course without defeat.
Nagelsmann, who will leave the club for RB Leipzig at the end of the season, could also live with that. “When we get into the top six, we should be very happy,” said the 31-year-old.
Hoffenheim was mercilessly effective in his victory on Schalke. Ishak Belfodil (25., 80.), Andrej Kramaric (44.), Adam Szalai (65.) and Nadiem Amiri (73.) scored the goals.
Daniel Caligiuri (60th, Foulelfmeter) and Guido Burgstaller (90th) scored for the royal blues, who must continue to fear for class retention.
