Deniz Undav became the match winner in VfB Stuttgart’s 2-1 home win against Mainz 05. The striker said afterwards that he had actually wanted to score the winning goal in a completely different way.
With a remarkable lob (80th), Deniz Undav converted a long ball from goalkeeper Alexander Nübel and put his VfB Stuttgart on the road to victory in Sunday’s game against Mainz 05. In front of 05 goalkeeper Robin Zentner, the 29-year-old remained ice-cold – although he seemed to have thought a lot before the conclusion.
“I actually wanted to shoot him through the legs and changed my mind at the last moment because I’m stupid,” Undav explained afterwards on “DAZN”: “In the end I did everything right.” Mainz, who had taken the lead through national player Nadiem Amiri (41′), had nothing left to counter the goal. Chris Führich equalized with a dream goal shortly before the break (45th + 4).
Undav, who was in the starting line-up for the first time after recovering from a torn knee ligament and scored his first goal of the season, also admitted after the game that he was not yet back to 100 percent. “I need a few more games over 90 minutes for that. I was just exhausted in the last few minutes. The grain was missing.”
It wasn’t just Deniz Undav who was brought into the starting line-up by Sebastian Hoeneß against Mainz, the head coach replaced all of the field players compared to the Europa League at Fenerbahce (0-1).
Hoeneß defends XXL rotation at VfB Stuttgart
“We made ten changes. We knew that we had to bring in a lot of energy because Mainz had played three days before,” summed up Undav: “It was disgusting because Mainz positioned themselves at the back and occasionally pressed to wait for a counterattack. Führich’s 1-1 was fundamentally important that we went into halftime with a draw. Then we defended everything at the back and took advantage of the one chance.”
Hoeneß’ rotation plan ultimately worked. “I was convinced of the decision and even if we hadn’t won the game, I would have been,” said the VfB coach: “You could see that it was intense and players needed a break sometimes. That was huge for us as a team.”
Meanwhile, not only Deniz Undav may have gained new self-confidence, but also winger Chris Führich. The eight-time national player was recently only a substitute player and has now registered his claim for further starting eleven appearances.
“I’m really happy to have scored again. I had a dry spell. The load has been lifted,” confessed the 27-year-old: “I’ve been going through a difficult phase at the moment. It’s difficult for every footballer to work their way out of it. The boys who played just did well. I’m making sure I put my foot down and help the team.”