Hoffenheim fights back for 1-1 at Union Berlin in Bundesliga

BERLIN (AP) — Max Kruse scored on his return for Union Berlin but couldn’t stop Hoffenheim fighting back to draw 1-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Kruse had been out with a thigh injury since the Berlin derby in December, and the former Germany forward made an immediate impact on his return, converting a penalty in the ninth minute for his seventh goal in 11 appearances.

The 32-year-old was involved in the buildup, too, crossing for Christopher Trimmel, who was fouled by Florian Grillitsch for the penalty.

The visitors regrouped and equalized through Nico Schlotterbeck’s own goal under pressure from Ihlas Bebou in the 29th. Andrej Kramaric crossed the ball and goalkeeper Loris Karius’ attempted clearance rebounded in off his teammate’s shoulder.

Pavel Kaderabek thought he scored a late winner for Hoffenheim but the goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR check.

Union remained seventh and Hoffenheim 11th after 23 rounds.

MAINZ’ MISSED CHANCE

Mainz missed the chance to move out of the relegation zone when Augsburg ended its recent resurgence with a 1-0 defeat.

A mistake from goalkeeper Robin Zentner proved costly when it led to the game’s only goal in the 25th minute. Zentner’s attempted pass went straight to opposing player Florian Niederlechner, who quickly sent it over to André Hahn to score.

With its three-game unbeaten run coming to an end, Mainz remained second-last, while Augsburg eased its relegation worries by moving eight points clear of the drop zone.

Bayer Leverkusen was hoping to get back on track after its Europa League exit with a win at home over Freiburg later.

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Ciarán Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP