2. Bundesliga: Hannover victorious after five-goal thriller at the Olympiastadion
Weißhaupt’s 71st-minute goal restored Hannover’s two-goal lead and emerged as winners, despite a late scare when Julian Eitschberger pulled back deep into added time. This result consolidates Hanover’s position in the pack of promotion hunters.
Facing a Hertha side after a grueling 120 minutes in midweek cup play, Hannover started with real intent and struck after just eight minutes. Enzo Leopold’s deep free-kick drifted to the far post, where Luca Schuler had moved away from Boris Tomiak to return from close range beyond Tjark Ernst.
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The visitors doubled their advantage before the half-hour mark thanks to top scorer Benjamin Källman. Daisuke Yokota combined perfectly with Noel Aseko-Nkili before bringing the ball back to the center, where Källman kept his cool to finish clinically past Ernst and give Hannover a 2-0 lead at the break.
Hertha earned their way back into the contest seven minutes after the restart when they were awarded a penalty. Captain Fabian Reese stepped up and confidently sent his effort into the bottom left corner to spark hopes of a comeback.
Yet despite reducing the deficit, the hosts struggled to maintain the pressure, with their midweek efforts evident as Hannover continued to dictate the tempo. The visitors regained momentum in the 71st minute. Once again, Aseko-Nkili crossed the box and substitute Weißhaupt guided his goal past Ernst to make it 3-1.
It must be recognized that Hertha recovered late and began to throw bodies forward. Their persistence paid off in the second minute of injury time when Eitschberger fired on goal to set up a tense finale with five minutes of injury time indicated.
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However, Hannover held firm. As Hertha launched a final push, Nahuel Noll made a crucial save from a late header following a free kick to preserve the lead and seal all three points.
It was a resounding victory on the road for Christian Titz’s side, with their fourth consecutive win moving them into second place in the standings. For Hertha, the physical toll of their cup exploits seemed telling, as the momentum from last week’s victory at Elversberg evaporated. They remain sixth and miss the opportunity to close the gap on the teams above them.
