Desperate to avenge their 2-0 loss to OFI Crete in their opener, Hoffenheim almost scored just three minutes in as Koki Machida’s header crashed against the crossbar.
The hosts continued to probe, and former Bundesliga goalkeeper Alexander Nubel was called into action, saving a shot from Leon Avdullahu from just inside the box.
Despite Hoffenheim coming close, they could have easily gone behind before half-time after almost getting caught out playing from the back. The ball eventually broke to Junior Olaitan, and he shot towards goal, and via a deflection from Andrej Kramaric it fizzed past Oliver Baumann’s goal.
That seemed to give Besiktas confidence in the second half, and they missed a couple of big opportunities to take the lead early on. Ilhan Fakili was put through and flashed just wide from a narrow angle, before Leandro Trossard on the other wing got it all wrong, firing the ball way off target from a promising position.
Approaching the hour mark, the visitors finally took advantage of their pressure after some pinball in the box. Hyeon-Gyu Oh found Michael Murillo, who nudged the ball over the line.
However, against the run of play, Hoffenheim levelled through Fisnik Asllani. Substitute Tim Lemperle fed him at the edge of the area, and he produced a neat turn before finding the bottom corner.
The match was full of twists and turns, and just a few minutes later, Besiktas restored their lead. Olatain played an intricate through ball to Oh, and he coolly slotted past Baumann.
The South Korean could not believe his luck when Fakili’s cross came his way, and he slid the ball home to ensure his team would leave with all three points, despite a late consolation from Machida with a bullet header.
Having lost their previous five head-to-heads against German opponents, Besiktas will be delighted to maintain their perfect start to the league phase, while Hoffenheim suffer a sixth defeat in seven matches in all competitions (W1).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Hyeon-Gyu Oh (Besiktas)
