In the duel between the Bundesliga clubs, VfB Stuttgart prevailed against Mainz 05. The move into the round of 16 was hard-fought and rustic.
VfB Stuttgart beat Mainz 05 in the second round of the DFB Cup and secured their ticket to the round of 16 with a 2-0 win. The goals for the previous season’s cup winners were scored by Luca Jaquez (6th minute) and Atakan Karazor (73rd). The cup exit is the next sporting setback for Mainz, Because things are currently not going well for the 05ers in the Bundesliga either.
Hot beginning phase
For many fans of both clubs, the opening phase of the cup game must have felt like as if they had on Sunday, when Stuttgart and Mainz already met in the Bundesligaonly blinking briefly in the final phase. Because it only took 20 seconds until the first rustic foul. Tempers didn’t seem to have cooled down much since the final whistle of the Bundesliga game. The Mainz team, whose coach Bo Henriksen had to watch from the stands after his red card in the first round match, started with a lot of physical presence and tried to show VfB, who had changed to ten positions, the limits early on.
The Stuttgart team tried to find footballing answers in the heated initial phase. Jaquez achieved this in the 6th minute. After a corner, the Stuttgart player rose unchallenged in the six-meter area and headed in completely free to give VfB the lead. The goal was the 22-year-old defensive player’s first competitive goal for the Swabians. With the score at 1-0, they didn’t allow much and Mainz barely got into the game.
Stuttgart lead – even at half time
The hosts only managed to do this after just under half an hour. They worked their way into the game. Nadiem Amiri, who had scored for the 05ers in the Bundesliga duel, tried a long-range shot – but it was too harmless (25th minute). The people of Mainz looked for solutions and got more and more rooms, but used them too rarely. The really big highlights remained in short supply until shortly before halftime.
Shortly before the break, Badredine Bouanani had the chance to make it 2-0, but Mainz keeper Robin Zentner was there. Dominik Kohr then stopped Stuttgart’s follow-up shot. So the Swabians remained 1-0 ahead at halftime.
Second VfB goal, Mainz with difficulty
After the break it was VfB who once again created the first good opportunity. But Deniz Undav, who intercepted Lennard Maloney’s unsuccessful attempt to clear the ball, put the ball just wide of the goal (47′). That was the only thing worth mentioning for about 20 minutes. Then Nelson Weiper and Benedict Hollerbach, both substitutes for the 05ers, tried to add offensive accents, but also remained too harmless.
The cup winner from last season was completely different. He played out an attack patiently and with all the consistency in the 73rd minute. Undav fed captain Karazor, who pushed the ball over the line to make it 2-0.
Disjointed final phase
05 coach Henriksen even put on his glasses in the stands in the final phase, but he no longer saw any of his team’s footballing accents. Instead, both teams ended the game as it had started – rustically. Even a new scuffle didn’t change the result. VfB moves into the round of 16 with a 2-0 win. After the Bundesliga game, Mainz also lost the cup clash.
Broadcast on Thursday, October 30, 2025 at 6:00 a.m., SWR Aktuell in the morning, SWR Aktuell
