Hoffenheim edge past Istanbul Basaksehir in Europa League

Hoffenheim recorded their first-ever win in Europe after moving 3-1 past Istanbul Basaksehir in UEFA Europa League's group stage.

Second half goals from Benjamin Huebner, Nadiem Amiri and Nico Schulz helped Hoffenheim to secure the first victory in Group C against the visitors from Turkey, who scored their late consolation goal through Stefano Napoleoni on Thursday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Both sides started highly motivated into the encounter and exchanged offensive actions on both ends of the pitch in the early stages.

As the match progressed, Hoffenheim gained the upper hand but they missed the chance to break the deadlock as Sandro Wagner squandered a couple of promising opportunities before the break.

After the restart, the hosts started where they left off and were rewarded as Benjamin Huebner headed home Kerem Demirbay's assist to open the scoring with 52 minutes played.

The Bundesliga side kept it coming whereas Basaksehir struggled to gain a foothold into the encounter. The hosts doubled the lead through Nadiem Amiri, who unleashed a volley hammer following a cross from Demirbay seven minutes later.

Basaksehir remained dangerous yet they were unable to produce clear-cut opportunities while Hoffenheim staged a clinical chance conversion as Nico Schulz drilled the ball past goalkeeper Mert Guenok to make it 3-0 on the scoreboards in the 75th minute.

The 3-0 deficit seemed to be a wakening call for the visitors as Mehmet Batdal's header missed the target just wide before Kerim Frei rattled the woodwork with his long-range effort in the closing period.

The visitor's efforts paid off in the dying seconds of the game as Stefano Napoleoni danced through Hoffenheim's defence to reduce the arrears to 3-1 from the edge of the box.

With the result, Hoffenheim wrapped up their first triumph in Europe after five attempts while Basaksehir wait for their first win in Group C.

Ludogrets remain atop the standings in Group C followed by Braga, Hoffenheim and Basaksehir.

--IANS

sam/bg