Undav keeps scoring
©IMAGO
With the involuntary help of Bochum’s double unlucky Philipp Strompf, VfB Stuttgart reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup. The defending champion won the round of 16 against the second division team 2-0 (1-0). VfL defender Strompf initially gave the Swabians the lead with an own goal in the twelfth minute and then saw a red card in stoppage time in the first half.
In the atmospheric Ruhrstadion, national player Deniz Undav (47th) also scored for VfB in front of 25,940 spectators. So the Stuttgart team can continue to dream of another final in Berlin. The guests, with coach Sebastian Hoeneß rotating heavily, got off to a dream start. Stuttgart’s Ramon Hendriks threw a throw-in into the penalty area. Bochum defender Strompf wanted to clear the ball, but unfortunately extended the ball over goalkeeper Timo Horn into his own goal.
However, the Bochum team, who were actually in the game well before going behind and also had their first chances, didn’t seem shocked at all. They often left the ball to VfB and let the Swabians play in midfield. However, VfL, who were pushed forward by coach Uwe Rösler in shorts at seven degrees Celsius, remained dangerous on the counterattack.
After a long ball from his own half, Farid Alfa-Ruprecht ran alone towards the Stuttgart goal. However, Fabian Bredlow, who had rushed out wide and was playing in place of regular goalkeeper Alexander Nübel, was thrown off course and shot wide. Francis Onyeka and the busy Kjell Wätjen missed further chances to equalize.
Shortly before half-time, Strompf’s already bitter football evening came to a premature end. The 27-year-old received the ball improperly and subsequently fouled striker Undav in midfield – because the VfB attacker ran freely towards the goal, referee Florian Badstübner showed Strompf the red card, according to the video images. Bochum’s managing director Ilja Kaenzig called the expulsion on ARD “harsh and petty”. Simon Zoller, who used to storm for VfL and now works for the club, described him as “absolute madness”.
VfB quickly took advantage of their superiority. Undav headed a cross from national player Jamie Leweling shortly after the break to make it 2-0 and continued his scoring streak. With that the game was decided. Stuttgart controlled the game and gave VfL, who continued to try, no hope of turning things around.
Grifo leads SC Freiburg against Darmstadt 98 into the DFB Cup quarter-finals
Led by set-piece specialist Vincenzo Grifo, SC Freiburg abruptly ended SV Darmstadt 98’s hopes of a coup in the DFB Cup and confidently reached the quarter-finals. Coach Julian Schuster’s favorites from South Baden won 2-0 (1-0) against the second division team.
Grifo (42nd) first hit the corner with a precise and powerful penalty kick. The winger then prepared Lucas Höler’s second goal (69th) and thus the decision in favor of the Bundesliga club. The 32-year-old missed an even clearer success when he failed to hit the crossbar with a second penalty kick (84′).
The current Europa League participant and 2022 cup finalist will be looking forward to the draw on Sunday evening for the next round, which will be held in February 2026. Shortly before the end, Darmstadt lost Matej Maglica with a yellow-red card (88th) and has to concentrate on the second division. Coach Florian Kohfeldt’s team is in the top group in fifth place.
In the Europa Park Stadium, which was not sold out, little of note happened for almost half an hour in front of 30,000 spectators. Then things suddenly got tricky for the sports club. Goalkeeper Florian Müller had to stretch to direct Matthias Bader’s shot over the crossbar (27′). SC coach Schuster had urgently warned against underestimating the cup task against the second division team. After all, two years in a row it ended early despite being a favorite.
Schuster’s team had control of the game from the start. Three days after the 4-0 gala against Mainz 05, Freiburg were initially unable to convert their superiority into goals. It was only the penalty kick shortly before the break that sparked celebration. Rip-off, Grifo left Darmstadt’s number one Marcel Schuhen no chance to defend himself. Midfield colleague Johan Manzambi had previously been slowed down by a foul from Patric Pfeiffer. Shortly before, the in-form Freiburg youngster had not been able to take advantage of SC’s greatest chance to date from close range.
Again Grifo was the focus. Like on Sunday, when he drew level with Freiburg’s record scorer Nils Petersen with his 69th Bundesliga goal. The offensive force is now still three goals short of catching up with Petersen (105 goals) across all competitions. Darmstadt came out of the break a little more agile. But Höler scored the goal for the hosts. Then Freiburg keeper Müller had to distinguish himself several times in his second chance of the season as a replacement for Noah Atubolu. The SC was able to cope with the fact that the second penalty was missed after a foul on Philipp Treu and after a video decision. As in the previous year, Darmstadt failed in the round of 16 and only made it to the top eight in 1986/87.