Bundesliga: VfB Stuttgart remains without a win, TSG Hoffenheim remains fourth

Arminia wins in the relegation battle

VfB Stuttgart has stopped its series of defeats in the relegation battle of the Bundesliga, but missed the hoped-for sense of achievement. With the 1:1 (0:0) against Bayern conqueror VfL Bochum, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo’s penultimate table secured a point on Saturday, which was actually not enough for the hoped-for relegation. After the last four appearances without a point, Armel Bella Kotchap’s own goal (56th minute) wasn’t enough because Bochum equalized in added time with a penalty kick from Eduard Löwen (90’+5′).

When almost everything spoke for the first victory of the Swabians, who were threatened with relegation, since mid-December, VfB defender Konstantinos Mavropanos committed a serious foul in the penalty area in front of 20,059 spectators. A week after the 4-2 coup against the record champions from Munich, Bochum were unable to follow suit and were now the ninth Bundesliga club after beating FC Bayern in the following game without a win.

Bochum was more dangerous when Gerrit Holtmann overpowered VfB right-back Pascal Stenzel. Holtmann’s cross but shot Milos Pantovic over the goal (7th). However, a penalty scene like this from the opening minutes was a rarity in the first half. Unlike a week ago against Munich, when they scored four goals in half an hour, Bochum were far from an offensive spectacle.

At the beginning of the second half, the Stuttgart fans quickly cheered. Chris Führich fired in a corner, Orel Mangala headed Bochum’s Bella Kotchap and the ball bounced into the goal. Immediately before, Omar Marmoush had missed VfB’s best chance to date in a counterattack. He failed at the head of goalkeeper Manuel Riemann. Midfielder Mangala could have calmed his nerves about fifteen minutes before the end, but shot Riemann. On the other side, Takuma Asano missed the chance to win a point (78th). A header from Sebastian Polter landed on the post (83′). Then it came to a draw.

Late double strike: TSG Hoffenheim turns game in Wolfsburg

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim has stormed into a Champions League spot. Within just four minutes, Sebastian Hoeneß’ team made it 2-1 (0-1) at VfL Wolfsburg from behind on Saturday. First, Denmark’s Jacob Bruun Larsen, who had just come on as a substitute, equalized in the 74th minute with a spectacular side kick. The Croatian Andrej Kramaric even scored the winning goal on his first mission after a positive corona test (78th). Only four minutes later, goalkeeper Oliver Baumann prevented the 2:2 (82nd) ​​after a header from Jonas Wind.

Wolfsburg’s Danish striker gave VfL the lead in the 36th minute with his first Bundesliga goal. A second goal of the 12 million euro purchase from FC Copenhagen did not count because of an offside position (88th). The recent upswing of his team ended after the two victories against Greuther Fürth (4:1) and Eintracht Frankfurt (2:0) but also because the “wolves” only wanted to maintain their lead in the second half. Instead of possibly moving decisively out of the relegation zone and even moving up to four points in a Europa League place, Florian Kohfeldt and his team have to look down the table.

The Hoffenheim team are completely different. The important defensive players Dennis Geiger and Florian Grillitsch were both suspended before the game. Shortly before the break, another central figure had to leave the field in Kevin Vogt (43′). The defense chief had injured his thigh in a running duel with Max Kruse. Nevertheless, TSG proved to be a very well organized and disciplined defending team, even when weakened in this way.

Three points in relegation battle: Okugawa ensures Arminia success against Union

At Union Berlin, the negative trend continues after Kruse’s departure. The third game without the offensive man who switched to Wolfsburg at the end of January was also lost 0-1 (0-0) at Arminia Bielefeld. With this, the team of coach Urs Fischer is moving away more and more from the international places. In front of 10,000 spectators in the Schüco Arena, Masaya Okugawa (53rd) ensured Arminia’s narrow victory in a hard-fought game, which is well on the way to staying in the league after only one defeat in the last eight Bundesliga games. For the East Westphalians it was also the first Bundesliga victory over the Berliners on the fourth attempt.

After a lively start, however, the game increasingly lost its entertainment value. Both teams wore themselves out in hard-fought duels beyond the goal areas and did not put much emphasis on the game. Both the now declining Bielefeld and the stronger guests didn’t create any chances for a long time. Only a shot by Berlin’s Rani Khedira in the 35th minute was a goal threat. Just as the Berliners were preparing to take over the direction after the break, Bielefeld struck ice cold and unexpectedly. After a pass from the eye-catching Patrick Wimmer, Okugawa hit the far corner with a well-placed low shot and was celebrated by the fans for his eighth goal of the season.

Petersen with an early lead: SC Freiburg wins in Augsburg

Without head coach Markus Weinzierl, the situation in the relegation battle has worsened for FC Augsburg due to the first home defeat against SC Freiburg. After their 2-1 (2-1) win on Saturday, the guests from Breisgau are still on course for a place in the European Cup. Attacker Nils Petersen (4th) and the powerful central defender Nico Schlotterbeck (26th) scored for Freiburg in front of 14,050 spectators. The Augsburgers, for whom Michael Gregoritsch scored the 1-1 (16th), remain in 16th place.

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