Sule header lifts Hoffenheim to 3rd place

Berlin - Rising Germany star Niklas Sule sealed Hoffenheim's 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin which put it third in the Bundesliga and set up a mouth-watering clash against leaders Bayern Munich.

Sule's 31st-minute header on Sunday gave unbeaten Hoffenheim its fifth win in nine games as his side took Hertha's place in Germany's top flight.

It leaves Hoffenheim four points behind Carlo Ancelotti's Bayern, who it plays in Munich next Saturday.

The tie at Munich's Allianz Arena will pit two teams unbeaten against each other after Bayern's 3-1 win at Augsburg on Saturday.

Having battled relegation last season, this is the highest Hoffenheim has been in the German league table for two years.

The turn around in its fortunes is mainly down to the hard work of its 29-year-old coach Julian Nagelsmann, the youngest coach in the Bundesliga's history.

Sule, 21, grabbed the winner when the giant centre-back got on the end of Kerem Demirbay's curling free-kick.

With an eye on the 2018 World Cup, the strapping centre-back is in the plans of Germany's head coach Joachim Loew.

Sule, who won a silver medal when Germany lost the Olympic final to Brazil in the Rio de Janeiro games, made his debut for die Mannschaft in September's 2-0 friendly win over Finland, Bastian Schweinsteiger's 121st and final appearance.

The defeat cost Hertha third place and was only its second loss having also been beaten by Bayern this season.

Hertha coach Pal Dardai took off Vedad Ibisevic, the club's top scorer so far this campaign with six league goals, for the final 10 minutes, for Tunisia striker Sami Allagui, who made his 100th Bundesliga appearance.

Apart from Bayern being first, there is an unusual look to the top three with RB Leipzig, who won 2-0 at Darmstadt, still second and unbeaten with six wins and three draws in its debut Bundesliga season.