VfB Stuttgart has scored three important points in the relegation battle. In Bochum, the Swabians prevailed 3-2, ending their away ban in the Bundesliga.
With this cracker, Hiroki Ito gave VfB the lead in Bochum.
IMAGO/Beautiful Sports
Sebastian Hoeneß started his tenure at VfB Stuttgart with a win. In Nuremberg, the Swabians secured their place in the DFB Cup semi-finals – and in Bochum they now won their first Bundesliga away win since December 11, 2021. Hoeneß already relied on a three-man chain against the club, which the coach also sent into the race on Sunday evening . Only Millot and Guirassy were new in the starting eleven at VfB, Haraguchi and Pfeiffer were rotated to the bench.
Bochum’s coach Thomas Letsch didn’t have much reason to change either, after the 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt – the third game without defeat – only Danilo Soares returned after a yellow card suspension and replaced Heintz on the left back.
Bundesliga – 27th matchday
In front of their home crowd, VfL initially seemed a bit more present, the first duels went to Bochum. However, Stuttgart quickly internalized the robust pace of the hosts and thus kept VfL well away from their own goal. The Swabians didn’t create much themselves either, only after ten minutes did VfB appear in the Bochum penalty area for the first time – without becoming dangerous.
leadership out of nothing
It was different in the 14th minute: Danilo Soares insufficiently cleared a cross from Sosa to the edge of the penalty area, where Ito took aim and sent the ball into the net using the underside of the crossbar – 1-0 for VfB.
The lead came out of nowhere, but was good for the Swabians. Bochum was now pushed into their own half at times, but VfL mostly defended their own sixteen consistently. On the other hand, Bredlow was only tested once in the entire first half, which was characterized by duels – Asano headed too centrally after a corner (28th).
Stuttgart not shocked by the equalizer
In the second half, Letsch brought in a creative player in Förster for Osterhage, but Bochum was still harmless. Stuttgart was hardly challenged on the defensive – and after a solo by Vagnoman they almost made it 2-0 (51st). Free in front of Riemann, the national player shot exactly at the goalkeeper, which was to take revenge shortly afterwards. Millot grabbed Förster’s shoulder in the penalty area, Frank Willenborg pointed to the spot – and Stöger converted safely (58′).
The guests were not shocked by the equalizer, on the contrary: only a few seconds later, Guirassy suddenly appeared free in front of Riemann after a cross from Sosa and converted from close range (60th). Bochum wasn’t up to the task at all in this scene, as was the case three minutes later: Riemann flew under a cross from Millot, allowing Vagnoman to head the ball and put it in the right corner (63′).
Hofmann makes it exciting again
The two-goal lead lasted until the final phase because Bochum simply didn’t offer enough in the last third. In the 85th minute, however, the home side combined well, after a cross pass from Förster, Hofmann pushed the ball over the line. So it got exciting again in the last few minutes, but Stuttgart withstood the pressure and took the lead over time. Silas almost made it 4:2 (90th).
VfB scored big points in the relegation battle and finished 18th. Next Saturday (3.30 p.m.) Stuttgart will host Borussia Dortmund, while Bochum will only be in action at Union Berlin on Sunday (5.30 p.m.).
