El Ouahdi faces difficult start with Hamburg

Zakaria El Ouahdi made his debut for Hamburg this Sunday. Arriving a few days earlier from Genk, the Moroccan international was immediately named to the starting lineup on the right side against Mainz during the second round of the Bundesliga. He played the entire match, which ended in a heavy home defeat for HSV (0-5).

Positioned as a right wing-back in Merlin Polzin’s 3-4-2-1 system, the Atlas Lion played in a team that struggled to find its footing. Frequently targeted in his lane, El Ouahdi was pressed twelve times by the opposing team, the highest total of the match according to official Bundesliga data. However, this statistic does not reflect negatively on his performance. The Moroccan also received a yellow card in the 36th minute.

Mainz opened the scoring with Sheraldo Becker in the 19th minute, before Phillipp Mwene doubled the lead just before halftime (41st). Phillip Tietz then scored twice (48th and 83rd), and Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer sealed the visitors’ victory in stoppage time (90+1). A report from DPA published by WELT noted that El Ouahdi and fellow new wing-back David Møller Wolfe were not responsible for Hamburg’s main collective difficulties.

Despite this particularly challenging first evening, El Ouahdi immediately earned the trust of his coach, who kept him on the field for 90 minutes. The former Genk player will now need to continue his integration into a HSV team that sits at the bottom of the table after two defeats and is still searching for its first goal of the season.