In the 50th minute of the game, Stuttgart football coach Sebastian Hoeneß had a bad day on Tuesday evening. Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich scored beautifully with a curling shot to make it 1-1 in the quarter-finals of the German Football Association (DFB) Cup. For Hoeneß that was an impossibility, as the goalscorer shouldn’t have been on the pitch at that point. Andrich had already seen a yellow card when he committed a foul in the 36th minute.
Tobias Rabe
Editor in charge of Sport Online.
Afterwards, Hoeneß spoke of “a scene that influences the game. From our point of view, this is annoying.” Andrich came a step too late in midfield in a duel with Stuttgart’s Enzo Millot. Instead of playing the ball, his foot landed painfully on the opponent’s. The term “stamping” has crept into football parlance for such scenes. Such an offense usually results in a warning, in Andrich’s case that would have been a yellow-red card.
Referee Daniel Schlager, who otherwise showed a flawless performance, not only refrained from sending off the team, he didn’t even notice a foul in midfield in this situation. So Andrich got away scot-free. “And this player then makes it 1-1,” recapitulated Hoeneß after a “great football game” that his VfB lost 2-3. Nevertheless, it was noticeable how much the decision bothered him: “I’m not only disappointed, but also pissed off,” he told Sky broadcaster. “These are little things that decide the game.”
“The late goal hurts enormously”
Andrich was surprised by the excitement. “The first yellow: Sure, I’m late. I didn’t perceive the second scene that way,” he said. It was “nothing bad.” “The referee didn’t come to me either, and somehow no one really complained. That’s why I was surprised that so many people came to me after the final whistle and said: ‘Oh, you were lucky.’” You can see in the TV pictures “that I’m already on his heels – but at a normal pace and a normal situation”.
From VfB’s perspective, the referee’s decision was not the only annoyance in a cup duel that kept what the previous performances of both teams in the Bundesliga had promised. From the start everyone saw that it was the first against the third in the table, although the Werkself had some problems for a long time. It was no surprise that the strong Swabians took the lead twice thanks to goals from Waldemar Anton (11th minute) and Chris Führich (57th).
But Leverkusen had three apt answers to the questions they were asked on the way to the semi-finals and then possibly the final in Berlin. Andrich first equalized (50th), then it was Amine Adli (66th). When many were looking forward to an extension of the spectacle, Jonathan Tah headed the ball into the goal to win. “To score a goal in the last minute hurts enormously. We made too simple mistakes that led to goals conceded,” said Anton.
It was mistakes that led to goals, as is so often the case in football, but otherwise the players do a lot right. “It was a great game. We can be proud of what we showed,” said Hoeneß. “They were two teams that were fun because they played brave, cheeky, offensive football.” His counterpart also raved: “Great praise and great respect. “That was the best opponent we had in the BayArena this season,” said Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso.
Jonathan Tah scored the winning goal for Bayer in the last minute. : Image: dpa
Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav even spoke of the “two best German teams at the moment”. Hoeneß put this into perspective by looking at the Bundesliga table and FC Bayern: “There is still a team that is ten points ahead of us.” What is undisputed, however, is that the great performances this season will not lead VfB to the cup final in Berlin, but possibly to the Champions League. It’s enough to be among the four best German teams.
Daniel Theweleit, Leverkusen Published/Updated: Recommendations: 5 Daniel Theweleit Published/Updated: Recommendations: 3 Christopher Meltzer, Munich Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 4
Before heading to the European premier class, some Stuttgart players could take part in the European continental tournament. DFB sports director Rudi Völler was referring to Bayer and VfB when he said: “There will be some (players) at the next international matches, that’s what I feel.” Undav is probably one of them: “That he is with (national coach) Julian I can definitely tell you whether Nagelsmann is on the list, said Völler. “He’s a little rascal with a wonderful shooting technique.”
