VfB Stuttgart got back on the road to success against FC Augsburg and gained some air in the bottom of the table. The team of interim coach Michael Wimmer won the Swabian duel 2:1 (1:1) and thus revived the initial euphoria under Wimmer after the 0:5 beating at Borussia Dortmund a week ago.
After two wins at the beginning of his employment, the 42-year-old continued to gather arguments for employment beyond the winter thanks to goals from Serhou Guirassy (15th) and Waldemar Anton (90th + 1) and the resulting third win in four games.
On the way to their second win of the season, the Stuttgarters had also shown their ability to take things and were not impressed by Florian Niederlechner’s early deficit (4th).
The Cannstatters made life difficult for the guests from Augsburg with a fighting and playful performance. Ultimately, the win was forced: Anton scored and then doubled over in pain on the pitch. Coach Enrico Maassen’s FCA went without a win for the fifth game in a row.
Guirassy counters Niederlechner
The “broad chest” demanded by Maaßen was immediately noticeable when Niederlechner used the first big opportunity to make Augsburg’s dream start. Dan-Axel Zagadou carelessly let the striker escape, who then skilfully lifted the ball over Florian Müller into the Stuttgart goal.
A mixed game developed, many fouls disturbed the flow of the game extremely – but the second goal was quickly scored. Borna Sosa found Guirassy with a strong cross on the second post, who, like Niederlechner, converted his team’s first chance into a countable goal.
VfB remained the more active team, Augsburg relied on the counterattack as they did last time. The different game systems provided good entertainment in addition to the fewer interruptions compared to the initial phase. But Mergim Berisha (21′) for FCA, Stuttgart’s Pfeiffer (22′, 33′) and above all Silas (45′) failed to send their team into the break with a lead.
Stuttgart’s rush rewarded late
The trainers were only partially happy with the sometimes wild first half, but the game calmed down when the whistle was restarted. Both teams tried to form a more compact defense, which played into Augsburg’s cards in particular.
However, VfB remained the more active team in the second half. However, Niederlechner scraped Wataru Endo’s header off the line (69′). Augsburg had problems getting free in the final phase – and not only when Pfeiffer hit the crossbar (86th) but was very lucky. Anton’s 2:1 was well deserved.