Berlin/Stuttgart (dpa) – After his late moment of happiness, Sasa Kalajdzic briefly ignored the harsh realities and was just honest.
“Nobody wants a relegation battle,” said Stuttgart’s goal insurance company after VfB’s last-minute goal to make it 1-1 at 1. FC Union Berlin. The job situation for the Austrian in the country will not change that quickly, despite the promising feeling of the Swabian football boom.
Stuttgart momentum, but no euphoria
Kalajdzic’s coach, Pellegrino Matarazzo, knows exactly how delicate this Stuttgart momentum in the Bundesliga is. Last minute point thanks to Kalajdzic – okay. Jump up to 16th place – well and good. But that doesn’t trigger euphoria in the VfB coach. “We have this momentum when it comes to the results. Of course, the point is good for us, but we have to be ready in the next few weeks,” Matarazzo demanded.
For the first time since the start of the second half of the season at the beginning of January, the Swabians left a direct relegation zone thanks to the fairly fortunate draw with the Irons in the second half, despite an increase in performance. 16th place after the defeat of Hertha BSC at Borussia Mönchengladbach after the weekend. After many unfortunate defeats, four points from two games have provided a new level of security, which could well become a decisive factor in the final spurt of the Bundesliga season.
Kalajdzic and his flow of goals are of particular importance. “Nobody always wanted to hear that this is a player that we missed in the first half of the season,” Sven Mislintat emphasized the importance of the top striker, who has returned from injury and has scored two goals and provided two assists in the last three games . But the VfB sports director was not lured by the new position in the Bundesliga ranking either. He hasn’t noticed any major changes yet.
Mislintat: “Have 15th place in their own hands”
“It’s not about constantly looking at the table. The fact is that we have the relegation place and also 15th place in our own hands,” Mislintat diagnosed the situation quite soberly. The Union game also had a learning value for him, because the next tasks will be similarly physically demanding. FC Augsburg and Arminia Bielefeld are the opponents before and after the international break – two direct opponents in Kalajdzic’s unloved relegation battle.
VfB let the Irons force them into a physical battle until well into the second half. And nobody would have spoken of an undeserved home win for the Berliners if Kalajdzic hadn’t equalized the opening goal from Taiwo Awoniyi (41st hand penalty) after Borna Sosa’s dream cross. “It was important for us to overturn the momentum and gild today. Gold would have been a win, now it’s silver,” Mislintat described the new VfB feeling.