VfB Stuttgart celebrates a victory in the relegation battle ecstatically.
The boundless cheers had the perfect soundtrack. “Paradise City” by Guns’n’Roses played the stadium direction as the players and fans of VfB Stuttgart celebrated their first home win since February 18 like a title win. Borna Sosa even whipped up the Cannstatt curve from the Capo podium.
Because: VfB had managed an enormously important threesome in the fight against relegation from the Bundesliga. With a 2-1 (1-0) win against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Stuttgart team climbed to 15th place ahead of VfL Bochum, who tied on points, and new coach Sebastian Hoeneß kissed the club awake.
The fans had another job for him: “Finale” was on the poster that they rolled out after the final whistle. On Wednesday (8.30 p.m.) in the cup semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB dreams of Berlin – the paradise city, it was actually in Swabia for a few minutes on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re happy that we were able to give something back to the fans,” said defender Waldemar Anton. “With the fans behind us, we’re always good for a goal. We know that we can score something here at home in any situation.”
VfB: Guirassy has to leave the field after a Stindl hit
A penalty converted by Tanguy Coulibaly (83′) gave VfB a deserved win, while Gladbach’s Kou Itakura saw a red card for fouling Tiago Tomas (82′). A long-checked goal by the good Serhou Guirassy (22nd) put Stuttgart in the lead, Julian Weigl equalized with a penalty kick (78th).
Stuttgart dominated the game, especially in the first half, but what was initially missing were good scoring chances. That changed after 20 minutes: Gladbach’s goalkeeper Jonas Omlin first had to lengthen a shot from Millot. Shortly thereafter, Guirassy deflected the ball into the goal with a heel from a pass by Waldemar Anton, and after a two-minute video review the goal counted.
Only then did Gladbach take part in the game with more determination, which promptly caused difficulties for the shaky Stuttgart defense. VfB goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow prevented the quick equalizer against Alassane Plea with a brilliant save (33rd). VfB then missed several opportunities to extend their lead, for example due to the lively Silas (42nd).
Bad luck for Stuttgart: After an unintentional punch in the face by Gladbach’s Lars Stindl (51st), the busy goalscorer Guirassy had to leave the field. As a result, VfB increasingly withdrew, but still had the opportunity to extend their lead through Silas (64′) and Dan-Axel Zagadou (71′). Gladbach could not use his superiority – and needed involuntary help from Zagadou to equalize. Still, it wasn’t enough at one point.
VfB Stuttgart – Borussia Mönchengladbach: The votes
Sebastian Hoeneß (coach VfB Stuttgart): “In the second half, the message was to go for the second goal. After the break, however, I missed a bit of sharpness and determination. We had to win the game to improve our situation. We suffered, but we were ready for it “The 1-1 was of course bitter because I hadn’t seen any clear chances to score before then, but then the team showed a great reaction again, their heads wouldn’t drop. It’s a win that’s okay, a hugely important win for us as a team, we have a squad that performs as one and that’s the way to go.”
Daniel Farke (Borussia Monchengladbach coach): “It’s obvious that we’re disappointed with the result. In the first half we lacked a bit of sharpness and energy and assertiveness in both penalty areas. In the second half I can’t blame the lads at all, we dealt with a lot “Fighting back energy and passion. We had the momentum but then give it up again. The guys still tried everything until the last second. I can’t fault the passion, mentality and character. I’m with what we have invested, anything but dissatisfied.”
VfB Stuttgart – Borussia Mönchengladbach: The lineups
