Baumgartner double puts Hoffenheim back in European mix

Soccer Football - Bundesliga - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim v FC Cologne - PreZero Arena, Sinsheim, Germany - May 27, 2020 FC Cologne's Toni Leistner in action with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's Ihlas Bebou, as play resumes following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronald Wittek/Pool via REUTERS

Christoph Baumgartner scored two goals and set up a third as Hoffenheim snapped a seven-game winless run in the Bundesliga with an entertaining 3-1 victory over visitors Cologne on Wednesday which both teams ended with 10 men.

Hoffenheim moved back into European contention in seventh place on 39 points with six games left in the season which restarted 11 days ago after a break of more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All matches are played without spectators to minimise the risk of infection.

Soccer Football - Bundesliga - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim v FC Cologne - PreZero Arena, Sinsheim, Germany - May 27, 2020 FC Cologne's Ismail Jakobs in action with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's Robert Skov, as play resumes following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronald Wittek/Pool via REUTERS

"Two goals and an assist is obviously a good day at work," Baumgartner said. "But what's more important are the three points and we really fought for them."

The 20-year-old Baumgartner scored early in the first half with Hoffenheim in control and Cologne down to 10 men after 26 minutes when Sebastiaan Bornauw was sent off with a red card for a violent challenge.

The Austrian scored again a minute after the restart and laid off beautifully with a flick for Steven Zuber to hit their third goal in the 48th as the hosts looked to be cruising to victory.

Soccer Football - Bundesliga - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim v FC Cologne - PreZero Arena, Sinsheim, Germany - May 27, 2020 FC Cologne's Ellyes Skhiri in action with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's Diadie Samassekou, as play resumes following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronald Wittek/Pool via REUTERS DFL regulations prohibit any use of photographs as image sequences and/or quasi-video

But the numerical balance was restored two minutes later when Benjamin Huebner got his marching orders following a second booking for a clumsy foul on Cologne's Dominick Drexler.

The visitors pulled a goal back through Florian Kainz's deflected shot on the hour and could have scored again but Mark Uth's penalty was saved by Oliver Baumann.

Soccer Football - Bundesliga - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim v FC Cologne - PreZero Arena, Sinsheim, Germany - May 27, 2020 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's Christoph Baumgartner scores their second goal, as play resumes following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronald Wittek/Pool via REUTERS DFL regulations prohibit any use of photographs as image sequences and/or quasi-video

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)

Soccer Football - Bundesliga - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim v FC Cologne - PreZero Arena, Sinsheim, Germany - May 27, 2020 FC Cologne's Kingsley Ehizibue in action with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's Munas Dabbur, as play resumes following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronald Wittek/Pool via REUTERS DFL regulations prohibit any use of photographs as image sequences and/or quasi-video