The obligation to win was fulfilled, but the little football miracle didn’t happen: Despite a 3:2 (2:1) thanks to a last-minute goal in the preliminary round final of the Europa League against Young Boys Bern, VfB Stuttgart has to take the detour via the playoffs. However, the necessary support for the theoretically still possible direct entry into the round of 16 did not materialize.
The Stuttgart team clearly dominated the game against initially weak guests and, after a furious start, had already scored twice after less than seven minutes. But thanks to the double strike from the offensive duo Deniz Undav (6th minute) and Ermedin Demirovic (7th), the Swabians regained their lead after missed opportunities and negligence in defense.
In the second half it looked like a setback before Andres Chema completed the fourth home win in the fourth appearance in front of his own crowd in this Europa League season in the 90th minute. Armin Gigovic (42nd) and Sandro Lauper (57th) had equalized for Bern.
Draw on Friday
The second round pairings will be drawn on Friday (1 p.m.) at UEFA headquarters in Nyon. Given the format of the competition, there are only two possible opponents.
Stuttgart had to win for their mini-chance of reaching the round of 16 directly. And after a white-red choreography, the game started promisingly. Central defender Finn Jeltsch won the ball well into the visitors’ half and after a combination on the right, Undav had little trouble pushing the ball over the line from close range.
Bern’s coach Gerardo Seoane, Mönchengladbach’s coach until September, had warned urgently about the instinctive footballer. But he shone in the next action as a preparer for striker Demirovic.
The Stuttgart team didn’t have enough, they continued to put pressure on the struggling sixth-place team in the Swiss league – and had promising chances. Not only when Jeltsch’s shot was directed onto the post by YB keeper Marvin Keller, VfB could have increased.
Bredlow helps the opponent with a bad pass
The Swabians had events under control for a long time. But shortly before the break, Gigovic’s connection made things exciting again. Before the goal was conceded, the pass from substitute keeper Fabian Bredlow, who was surprisingly included in the starting line-up, landed at the opponent. Although VfB coach Hoeneß had announced that he wanted to take the game seriously, he still gave the national goalkeeper Alexander Nübel, who had made strong saves, an evening to breathe.
VfB defense leaves goal scorers alone
After the break, the Swiss, who had to do without their supporters due to a UEFA sanction, achieved an equalizer that was hardly thought possible in the first half. During a corner kick, Stuttgart missed Lauper on the edge of the penalty area, who volleyed the ball into the goal to equalize. Bredlow later even had to save his team from falling behind before Chema scored the winning goal in the last minute. But it wasn’t enough to advance directly.
