Returnee Deniz Undav gave VfB Stuttgart a perfect start to the new year as a “Joker”.
Deniz Undav first threw his arms around Angelo Stiller’s neck, then grabbed his coach to celebrate. Sebastian Hoeneß and Undav hugged each other warmly and patted each other hard on the back. The national player then received a special round of applause in front of the fans.
Comeback successful, start of the year too: At the start of their hot January, VfB Stuttgart won the Swabian derby at FC Augsburg 1-0 (0-0) – with a goal from Undav, who came on after an hour (65th).
“It was outstanding to be back on the pitch,” said the Joker afterwards on DAZN. “I kept calm when I scored. Everything was fine. But the coming weeks will be tough.”
While VfB moved closer to the international positions, Augsburg increasingly found themselves in a relegation battle.
VfB Stuttgart has to be patient for a long time
VfB had more of the game, but initially hardly had any good chances – before Undav took advantage of his first. The victory is a welcome boost. Stuttgart still have five games on their schedule until the end of the month: in the Bundesliga against Leipzig, Freiburg and Mainz, in the Champions League against Slovan Bratislava and against Paris Saint-Germain. Augsburg, who have won just one of their last eight games, are increasingly embroiled in a relegation battle.
In order to control the load, Hoeneß initially left the recovered Undav and Jamie Leweling, who had been missing since the beginning of November, on the bench. Jacob Bruun-Larsen, who was signed during the week, was also sitting there. The striker was initially formed by Nick Woltemade and Ermedin Demirovic, who moved from Augsburg to Stuttgart for 21 million euros before the season.
In VfB’s stormy opening minutes, Demirovic had a good header chance (5th), but was denied by goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, whom coach Jess Thorup had preferred over Nediljko Labrovic. The guests then controlled the ball and opponents on the new pitch in the Augsburg Arena, but hardly created any further chances.
It was only after half an hour that FCA started to regularly get out of their own half and into the Stuttgart penalty area – and thus found their way into high pressing better. VfB’s build-up to the game stalled – goalkeeper Alexander Nübel prevented Robert Gumny from falling behind (41′). On the other side, Demirovic hit the ball inaccurately in the best position after a cross from Maximilian Mittelstädt (45th).
Undav and Bruun-Larsen came into the game after an hour, and Undav promptly proved why Stuttgart had missed him for so long. After a fine lob from Stiller, the national player finished free in front of Dahmen in the second attempt.