Nfter his lucky punch at the very last second, Konstantinos Mavropanos stormed towards the VfB Stuttgart fans completely detached. With his goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time, the Greek secured the Swabians’ 2-1 (1-1) win against Hertha BSC on Tuesday evening. “There was always the belief that we could score the goal,” said Stuttgart’s interim coach Michael Wimmer on Sky. “I somehow had the feeling that the Dinos came to the header. Of course we’re over the moon and happy that it actually works out to make it 2-1.”
Hertha, on the other hand, was served. “The game lasts until the end. I’m really angry, really angry,” said midfielder Jean-Paul Boetius. VfB took the early lead through Serhou Guirassy (4th minute). Dodi Lukebakio made the Berliners dream of at least one point for a long time (19th). But then Mavropanos struck from a Borna Sosa corner in added time. With the victory, the Stuttgarters leave the relegation place, Hertha’s view goes further down.
Shortly before, VfB had to cope with a moment of shock: after a painful header duel with Ivan Sunjic, captain Wataru Endo was carried off the field after lengthy treatment. On the television pictures it had looked as if he had briefly lost consciousness after the train seed impact. While Sunjic was able to continue playing with a bandaged head, the VfB professional had to be carried off the field by medical staff. According to Wimmer, the Japanese international was immediately taken to a hospital and examined in detail there, among other things, there was “suspicion of a severe concussion”. At this point in time, however, he could not say more about the state of health of his captain.
“We don’t know exactly yet, but we hope that nothing is broken because it was on the side of the head,” added Stuttgart’s sports director Sven Mislintat. “He was completely gone once. Of course we hope that the boy is doing well and that the World Cup is not in jeopardy.”
Mavropanos scores in the last second
Both teams were in the bottom third of the table with eleven points each. Since the release of coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, the Stuttgart team has now been able to win several games in their arena across all competitions. However, what remained a problem under Wimmer was the vulnerability in the first quarter of an hour. VfB have already conceded eight goals in this period.
Not much was missing against Hertha and a ninth early goal would have been added. However, Lukebakio’s failed scene was the only wobble in the early stages. And unlike in many previous games, this time VfB managed to strike themselves. After a pass from Tiago Tomás, who was involved in a goal in the third game in a row, Guirassy appeared in front of Hertha keeper Oliver Christensen and scored.
Happy about the win and a shout out to fellow player Endo: the pros from VfB Stuttgart after the 2-1 win over Hertha BSC
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Image: dpa
Both teams met in an intense game at eye level. Guest coach Sandro Schwarz, who made no changes compared to the 2: 3 win against FC Bayern Munich, had also predicted such a game. “It’s going to be a competitive game. We have to defend well and take our chances,” he said.
And his team took advantage of one of the few opportunities. Because Silas missed the 2-0, Lukebakio equalized. Borna Sosa lost sight of crosser Jonjoe Kenny and Waldemar Anton the scorer. Hertha almost turned the game around before the break. Defender Hiroki Ito, one of three fresh players in the starting XI, saved Lucas Tousart’s header off the line.
Wimmer’s plan to take the fans with him and play forward with force worked for a long time. “That’s how I imagine our football to be,” said the 42-year-old, whose future is to be decided during the World Cup break. However, Silas and Tiago Tomás rarely used the speed advantages against the Hertha defense. Nevertheless, it was still enough to win – because Mavropanos hit his head at the last second.
