VfB Stuttgart and Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 1-1 (0-0) in a largely weak game on matchday 32 in the Bundesliga. Serhou Guirassy (57th) for Stuttgart and Exequiel Palacios (70th) for Leverkusen each scored from penalties.
The point for both teams in the final spurt of the season is not enough. After the bitter defeat at Hertha BSC last week and Bochum’s win against Augsburg on Saturday, VfB have fallen back into the relegation zone. The gap to FC Schalke in the relegation rank is only one point. The first non-relegation place is two points away.
For Bayer Leverkusen, who have gone without a win for the third time in a row, the point share is a setback in the battle for European places. The Werkself fell back to seventh place due to the worse goal difference compared to VfL Wolfsburg.
Uneventful first half
Both teams were concerned about safety from the start. VfB gave the ball to the guests and withdrew a long way. Leverkusen, who started without Florian Wirtz (bank) among others, took little risk in the offensive game. The counter attempts by Stuttgart fizzled out. The result was few goal scenes. And when it went towards the goal, it wasn’t dangerous.
Towards the end of the first half, VfB invested even more in the offensive. Nothing changed at halftime of 0:0.
Palacios fouls and scores
The second half began like the first, only with reversed signs. Now it was Leverkusen who gave the ball to Stuttgart. But the plan went wrong, because in the 55th minute referee Frank Willenborg pointed to the penalty spot. Palacios came too late in the duel with Wataru Endo in the penalty area and knocked the Japanese off his feet. Guirassy stepped up and lobbed the ball into the middle of the goal (60′). Hradecky stretched, but couldn’t reach the ball with his foot.
Bayer coach Xabi Alonso reacted and brought Wirtz into the game. However, the focus was again on Willenborg. After VfB keeper Fabian Bredlow had cleared Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba in an aerial duel in the penalty area, Willenborg decided to take another penalty after studying the video images. Palacios made up for his mistake before the Stuttgart goal and confidently hit the bottom left corner (70th).
Vagnomann awards leadership
As a direct countermove, Josha Vagnoman had the renewed Stuttgart lead on his feet, but couldn’t get the ball on goal from a tight angle (71′).
Things got hectic again in the final minutes. Both teams pushed for the winning goal. But there were no more dangerous shots on goal.
Leverkusen demanded in the Europa League
Before the league continues, Leverkusen will host AS Roma in the second leg of the Europa League semi-finals (Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 9:00 p.m.).
At the end of Matchday 33, Bayer Leverkusen host Borussia Mönchengladbach (Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.). Four hours earlier, Stuttgart played in Mainz for important points in the relegation battle.