With a goal in the last minute, national player Deniz Undav saved VfB Stuttgart from an unpleasant surprise and saved the third-placed team in the Bundesliga from a draw. In the ninth minute of stoppage time, the striker scored the decisive goal with his 15th goal of the season to give Stuttgart a 3-3 (1-0) win in the Bundesliga’s Baden-Württemberg derby against 1. FC Heidenheim. The hosts had previously lost a comfortable 2-0 lead on Easter Sunday.
An own goal from VfB goalkeeper Alexander Nübel (62nd minute) and two goals within a few seconds from Tim Kleindienst (84th/85th) had put Stuttgart behind on the way to the Champions League after Serhou Guirassy (41st). and Angelo Stiller (53′) had put the hosts in front. Shortly before Undav’s goal, Heidenheim’s Nikola Dovedan (90+6) was shown the red card.
For coach Sebastian Hoeneß’s team, the draw was a sporting setback in the midst of turbulence in club politics in front of 60,000 spectators. With the long possible victory, the third-placed team would have moved within one point of FC Bayern Munich. The lead over Bayern’s conqueror Borussia Dortmund also melted to four points. Next Saturday (6.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky) the Stuttgart team will be guests at Westphalia for the top game.
“If you lead 2-0 at home, you can’t give up a game like that,” said VfB professional and national player Maximilian Mittelstädt to broadcaster DAZN. “We lead 2-0, but in the end we can’t be satisfied with the draw. We can’t let that go any further,” said goalscorer Stiller, who scored for the first time for VfB.
Stuttgart supporters protest
The 1000th Bundesliga game in the Stuttgart Arena, a small part of which was once played by the Stuttgart Kickers, began with a boycott by the VfB fans in the first ten minutes or so. With clouds of black smoke, black clothing and banners with a black background, they expressed their dissatisfaction with the escalated power struggle at the top of the club. “Supervisory Board, Investors, Presidium: Enough!” read one of the banners.
The conflict with President Claus Vogt, who was heavily criticized, came to a head during the international break with further statements and interviews. “We’re trying to keep it away,” VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß told broadcaster DAZN before the game about the announced protest: “What shouldn’t happen is that the team suffers from it. We need full support for eight games now and we need rest.”
The Swabians scored for the first time in the initial phase, which was marked by protests in the Cannstatt fan curve. However, nothing came of the supposed dream start: Guirassy was just offside when Deniz Undav passed the ball (8th). Undav (13th) and five minutes later Guirassy were denied further promising opportunities by Heidenheim’s goalkeeper Kevin Müller. Führich also couldn’t get past the visitors’ goalkeeper (39′) before the deserved 1-0 was scored before the break: After a combination with Undav and Angelo Stiller, Guirassy slotted home his 23rd Bundesliga goal of the season.
The hosts dominated the game. But they could also thank goalkeeper Alexander Nübel and his save with his foot against Jan-Niklas Beste, allowing them to go into the dressing room with the lead. Nübel saved against Beste with a foot save. Heidenheim’s left winger was fit again in time after the adductor problems that had forced him to leave the national team. “If things go really badly, we’ll go into halftime 0-3, we have to be honest about that,” the Heidenheim native said later.
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Even after the break, Stuttgart initially controlled the game. Stiller initiated the second goal himself and then refined his one-two with the assist from Undav. The fact that Heidenheim came close was also thanks to Nübel, who looked bad after a Beste corner and Tim Kleindienst’s header and also appeared unsettled afterwards. Substitute Silas only hit the post for VfB (74′). Then the game tipped over in the final minutes. With the last action of the game, Undav was successful and his equalizer stood up to the video evidence.
