Dream goal decides Freiburg duel
Joker scores late: VfB climbs towards the Champions League
Updated February 1, 2026 – 5:46 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
After a confident first half, the Swabians should have taken the lead. But the goal wouldn’t come for a long time – until the 89th minute.
A late dream goal from Ermedin Demirović gave VfB Stuttgart their next win in the Bundesliga and, at least for the time being, a place in the Champions League. The Swabians won against SC Freiburg 1-0 (0-0) and moved past RB Leipzig into fourth place in the table. The Baden team, however, is still a long way behind the European Cup places in seventh place after the 20th matchday and is losing touch.
VfB had a lot of ball possession and the better chances in the Baden-Württemberg duel. What he lacked for a long time in front of 60,000 spectators was efficiency – before Joker Demirović struck in the 89th minute. Previously, Freiburg could rely primarily on their goalkeeper Noah Atubolu.
“That’s the only thing that’s expected of me – that I push the ball over the line. I had a good feeling. That was very nice,” said Demirović on DAZN with a smile. For the 27-year-old, formerly under contract with SC, it was the 50th Bundesliga goal, the first from outside the penalty area.
Stuttgart were the much more active team in the first half. Apart from a long-range shot by Yuito Suzuki (4th minute) and a hit into the side-netting by Derry Scherhant (43rd), the guests were rarely seen at the front.
Defensively, Freiburg were initially quite compact, but gradually they came under increasing pressure. After SC keeper Atubolu parried a header from VfB defender Josha Vagnoman (20th), Deniz Undav came into focus.
Stuttgart’s national striker looked for one finish after another. Freiburg’s defense chief Matthias Ginter once saved a shot from the 29-year-old just in front of the line (28th), a little later Undav was unable to take advantage of a serious mistake in Baden’s build-up play (32nd).
The World Cup candidate’s exploitation of opportunities has been a frequent topic this season. After his goal in the 3-0 away win against Borussia Mönchengladbach a week ago, Undav defended himself against his critics. This time the attacker acted unluckily again.
