Bundesliga on Friday
Crazy comeback: Stuttgart wrestles Union down
Updated on December 6, 2024 – 10:35 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
Stuttgart was just behind at the break. A joker brought hope shortly after the restart – and Union lost a two-goal lead.
VfB Stuttgart had a thrilling duel with 1. FC Union in the Bundesliga on Friday evening. The Swabians were initially 0-2 behind, but celebrated a 3-2 (0-1) victory after 90 minutes. VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß showed a good hand: in the second half he relied on the German U21 national striker Nick Woltemade.
After Union took the lead through Danilho Doekhi (37th minute) and Robert Skov (48th), Woltemade whirled through the Berlin defense and scored a brace (51st and 59th). A little later, Atakan Karazor took advantage of a mistake by Union keeper Frederick Rönnow and turned the game in Stuttgart’s favor.
The Swabians rounded off their successful week in a fitting way. They had previously reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup. And at the same time, thanks to an increase in performance and great morale, they got ready for the groundbreaking Champions League game against Young Boys Bern on Wednesday.
In the meantime, however, sport took a back seat. Both fan camps stopped chanting during the second half. The reason: A medical emergency in the guest block (read more about this here).
In a long, uneventful first half, VfB goalkeeper Alexander Nübel briefly and involuntarily came into focus. Andras Schäfer crossed in front of the goal, and Nübel already had his hands on Doekhi’s header. However, the 28-year-old neither got hold of the ball nor punched it away. So the ball slipped through him and bounced clear behind the line.
Even after the surprising goal conceded, Nübel didn’t initially leave the best impression when Tim Skarke tested the VfB goalkeeper again shortly afterwards (40th). Before that, Nübel had hardly had anything to do. The Köpenickers, who have been so weak offensively so far this season, had not progressed beyond tentative attempts to take the lead.
The Swabians had more possession of the ball and seemed to dominate the game more and more after the even start. However, they initially did not delight their fans with goal area scenes.
It wasn’t until the middle of the first half that Stuttgart started a dangerous offensive move. After a pass from Enzo Millot, Ermedin Demirović lobbed over Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow, but also over the goal (22nd). Not much more came out of it at first.
Hoeneß reacted to the half-time deficit and strengthened the offensive by bringing in Woltemade for Leonidas Stergiou. But before the change paid off, the next strange goal was conceded: VfB initially cleared a corner, but the ball ended up back at the guests – and Skov’s cross into the center rushed straight into the goal. Rani Khedira no longer touched the ball with her head.
Woltemade then underlined his demand for more playing time. First the ball came via Millot and Demirović to the ex-Bremen man, who circled it into the net. The 22-year-old then refined a pass from Atakan Karazor. It was the defensive midfielder who finally made the VfB bench celebrate – after strong help from Rönnow. The Union keeper passed directly to him – instead of clearing. Almost in return, the guests were only a few centimeters short of equalizing again. A deflected shot from Jordan hit the crossbar (72′).