45
20:25
Mid-term conclusion:
At the break, it was still 0-0 between Stuttgart and Union Berlin, although the game had a lot of pace and excitement to offer at times. The Swabians in particular, who started the game really well after a nervous start when a big Zagadou mistake could have resulted in the early deficit, had three top-class chances. On the most promising finish, however, when Zagadou fired in an Ito free-kick sharply on the visitors’ goal, Rønnow saved with a mad reflex. The white-red made the game, but as expected had a difficult time against the usual compact Köpenicker. The fact that the good chances were not used could take revenge in the second round.
45
20:20
And at the corner it gets really artistic. The stationary ball finds no buyers in the center and somehow slips through to the second post, where Gießelmann twists to an overhead kick. He even gets the ball really well, but puts it just past the Swabian post to the right.
45
20:19
Official injury time (minutes): 3
45
20:19
But then the iron still get a good chance. Gießelmann takes a free kick from the left half-field sharply in the direction of the first post, where Jaeckel delivers a dangerous header to the left corner from a turn. Müller, however, clears the corner with a strong flight insert.
45
20:17
The white-reds are currently unable to find a gap against deep-lying Berliners and not only let the ball circulate in their own ranks, but also in their own half of the game. Relatively uneventfully, the action just ripples towards the half-time whistle.
42
20:15
The Köpenickers are now withdrawing very deeply and seem to want to bring the goalless draw into the break against lively Swabians, who are turning up the heat again.
39
20:11
At Schäfer, after a short treatment, you can continue straight away. Anton, on the other hand, suffered a slight laceration. The supervisors put a turban on him. The game can now continue in eleven-on-eleven.
37
20:10
Schäfer and Anton crash into each other violently in a header duel. Both need to be treated on the field. The game is paused right now.
34
20:08
Big chance for Stuttgart! Silas has his eye on right-winger Tiago Tomás, who plays a buttery cross straight to Guirassy’s head. His header from seven meters comes sharply to the long corner, but misses it by a few centimetres.
33
20:06
After a lively phase, the game is now flattening out a bit. While VfB is increasingly losing itself in small-small, the game currently consists mainly of midfield banter and marginal space gains.
30
20:04
Half an hour has passed and everything is still open in the Mercedes-Benz Arena. But the Stuttgart team has been emitting more danger for some time. Union Berlin is still very hesitant, especially in the game going forward.
27
20:01
Gießelmann lets Tiago Tomás steal the ball from his foot, giving VfB a good chance. In the end, the Portuguese’s low cross is a nuance too steep. Guirassy stretches, but can’t get the toe on.
25
19:59
Rascal Ito executes a free kick directly from a central position of 28 meters and the powerful left-footed shot develops a lot of spin to the outside. Rønnow is still there and safely parries the strong attempt.
22
19:55
After an advance from the right, Julian Ryerson has room for a high cross into the Swabian penalty area. However, the imprecise cross flies far too close into Florian Müller’s range of action, who doesn’t hesitate and fishes the ball safely out of the air.
20
19:53
The white-reds also pick up the pace after winning the ball in the center. Silas also leaves two opponents on his way towards the guest goal, but then Jaeckel rushes in with a perfectly timed tackle and separates the Stuttgarter from the ball. The subsequent throw-in brings nothing more.
18
19:52
Union is now working its way forward with an lightning-fast switching moment and is almost 1-0 in the lead. Siebatcheu fixes a pass in depth and sends Becker right into the box, who puts the ball across to the free shepherd. Schäfer, however, misinterpreted the situation and started too late, so he didn’t reach the ball. If the Hungarian thinks better here, it’s probably 1-0 for the guests.
17
19:50
Offensively, there is not too much to see from the leaders of the table so far, but it is well known that the Irons do not need too many chances. The last few minutes still go to the Swabians, who are doing well after a nervous start.
14
19:48
Big chance for Stuttgart! Stuttgart free-kick again and Ito again – this time from the left half-field, from where the Japanese Zagadou finds the second post. His header from almost five meters comes dangerously close to the corner, but Rønnow actually prevents the impact with a crazy reflex. Insanity!
12.
19:45
After a foul on Mavropanos, there is a promising free-kick position for VfB. Siebatcheu can easily clear the imprecise Ito ball from 23 meters in the right-hand position with his head.
9.
19:42
After a one-two with Guirassy, Silas comes right up to the baseline and can cross sharply into the box, where Jaeckel is in a good position and can clear the corner. However, Tiago Tomás then pulls the ball at rest too flat and sharply in the direction of the first post, where nothing else burns.
6.
19:39
After a corner from the right, VfB can’t get the ball out of the danger zone. After Müller punched a Ryerson cross frontally, Knoche was able to take a volley from twelve yards out, but sent the ball well over the crossbar. Kick off Stuttgart.
4.
19:38
Dan-Axel Zagadou loses the ball very negligently in the build-up game against Jordan Siebatcheu, who luckily for the hosts has too much haste and crosses erratically into the back of the penalty area, where there is no teammate. With this switching moment served on a silver platter, a lot more could have been done.
1.
19:33
The ball is rolling in the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The hosts are in their usual white and red home colors. The guests from the capital are dressed all in black. Here we go.
19:02
Both teams have faced each other in eight competitive games so far, with the majority of all matches ending in a draw. Even in their most important duels in the relegation matches to the 1st Bundesliga, the first and second leg ended in a draw. With the away goal rule, the Berliners got their ticket to the Bundesliga. There, VfB Stuttgart has not won in four duels with the Irons (three draws, one defeat).
18:54
Urs Fischer has to keep an eye on the strain during all the English weeks in October. Compared to the Europa League away game on Thursday evening in Sweden, there are three changes at Union Berlin: Niko Gießelmann, Paul Jaeckel and Genki Haraguchi start for Christopher Trimmel, Diogo Leite (both bench) and Janik Haberer (not in the squad).
18:48
1. FC Union Berlin went into the ninth matchday as the leaders of the table and could not be overtaken by either Bayern or Dortmund in yesterday’s classic. Last Saturday, the 2-0 defeat in Frankfurt ended a 14-game unbeaten streak for the Irons, who were able to redeem themselves during the week. After two defeats at the start of the Europa League, the Köpenickers celebrated an important 1-0 away win in Malmö. If the capital city can build on that in Stuttgart, they would also defend their top position in the Bundesliga.
18:42
VfB Stuttgart have not kept a clean sheet for 25 Bundesliga home games in a row. Last week, Saturday, there was no trend reversal in the basement duel at VfL Wolfsburg, which was lost 2-3 after conceding a last-minute goal. Coach Pellegrino Matarazzo reacted to this today with two changes to his starting line-up: Tiago Tomás and Dan-Axel Zagadou Dan-Axel Zagadou replaced Chris Führich and Pascal Stenzel (both on the bench) in the starting eleven.
18:36
For the first time in the club’s history, VfB Stuttgart went without a win in their first eight games in the Bundesliga (five draws, three defeats). Due to the five draws, the Swabians still went into the ninth matchday on a non-relegation zone. Looking at the results so far, however, VfB could end the match day in 17th place if nothing countable is scored in the home game against Köpenicker.
18:30
Good evening and welcome from the Mercedes-Benz Arena. VfB Stuttgart is hosting 1. FC Union Berlin today as part of the ninth match day of the Bundesliga. Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m.