Rayan Philippe sinks parent club Hamburg as Paderborn climb out of relegation zone
Late Philippe strike sinks Hamburg and lifts Paderborn
SC Paderborn earned a precious 1-0 Bundesliga victory over Hamburger SV on Matchday 7, with Rayan Philippe's 88th-minute strike settling a tense contest at the Benteler-Arena and ending HSV's three-game winning streak.
The result, engineered by a first-time finish from the Hamburg loanee, lifts Paderborn out of the relegation zone and leaves the two sides separated by just a single point in the table.
Hamburg arrived in east Westphalia on the back of three straight Bundesliga wins, while Paderborn came in as one of the division's most high-running sides. Ralf Kettemann kept his starting eleven unchanged from the previous weekend, pairing Steffen Tigges and Stefano Marino in attack, while Merlin Polzin handed Shafiq Nandja and Zakaria El Ouahdi starts in defence.
Paderborn settled quicker, dominating possession from the off. Stuttgart loanee Laurin Ulrich fired narrowly wide from a free kick after just three minutes, while Fábio Vieira pulled up with an apparent hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Otto Stange after only 13 minutes. Hamburg gradually found their footing without troubling the Paderborn goal, and David Møller Wolfe headed over from a corner before the interval, leaving the sides level at the break.
Heuer Fernandes keeps Hamburg alive
Paderborn came out firing after the restart. Half-time substitute Tom Baack created a big chance for Santiago Castaneda, who was denied by a brilliant reaction save from Daniel Heuer Fernandes just four minutes into the second period. The Hamburg goalkeeper kept producing stops throughout the half, including another off Castaneda in the 73rd minute, while Laurin Curda struck the outside of the post moments later.
Heuer Fernandes was named Player of the Match with 81 per cent of the fan vote, having repelled Castaneda's close-range effort in the 49th minute and parried another powerful strike from the same player in the 73rd minute. Despite his heroics, he was finally beaten by Philippe's winning strike.
Philippe decides it late
The breakthrough arrived in the 88th minute when Felix Götze flicked the ball into the path of Rayan Philippe, who drove a first-time finish into the bottom corner to put Paderborn 1:0 ahead — a goal rated at just 5 per cent probability. As fate had it, the 26-year-old HSV loanee scored his first goal for his new club a day after celebrating his birthday, against the parent club he joined Paderborn from.
Hamburg protested there was a foul in the buildup, but their complaints only earned Merlin Polzin a yellow card. The visitors, lacklustre in the final third, could not find a response before the final whistle.
Match facts
- xGoals: Paderborn 1.42 – Hamburg 0.51
- Fastest player: Tom Baack (Paderborn), 33.14 km/h
- Lowest goal probability: 1-0 by Rayan Philippe, 5 per cent
- Pass efficiency: Felix Götze (Paderborn), +3.21
- Fantasy Heroes: Santiago Castaneda (119 Points), Raphael Obermair (103 Points), Bilal Nadir
Paderborn now turn their attention to the DFB-Pokal, where they have advanced past Stuttgart and will meet Eintracht Frankfurt in the second round.