Late drama saves Stuttgart against Hoffenheim

In a sloppy encounter at the MHP Arena, Hoffenheim faced fellow Baden-Württemberg team VfB Stuttgart. Both teams shared the victory after a resolute defensive performance before Stuttgart scored a last-second penalty in the 95th minute.

In the 1990s, Stuttgart had great difficulty controlling possession in any way, while the visitors from Hoffenheim remained safe with no real threat from the Swabians.

However, a late VAR review resulted in a subsequent penalty for the hosts, and although his initial shot was saved, Ermedin Demirovic made no mistake and scored from point-blank range, meaning Stuttgart drew their second Bundesliga game in a row.

How it developed

The initial phase of the encounter in Stuttgart set the tone for the remaining ninety minutes. A move by Anrie Chase led to a penalty for Hoffenheim in the first minute.

This was soon followed by an attempt by Adam Hlozek Maximilian Mittelstädt cleared this brilliantly on the line after the Czech international Alexander Nübel had gone around.

Sebastian Hoeneß saw that his team then cleared a goal from the line Atakan Karazor directed a header towards the goal, which was cleared by Hoffenheim’s Valentin Gendrey.

The away team still seemed to be the better team in the first half, although VfB only saw two good attacks from Mittelstädt.

Stuttgart’s sloppiness was again evident in the 44th minute when Mittelstädt gifted the ball to Gendrey, who stormed towards goal before lifting the ball over the onrushing Nübel and giving the visitors a deserved lead on the road.

When Hoffenheim took the lead in the second half, Hoeneß reacted immediately and brought on Chris Führich and Josha Vagnoman on for Anthony Rouault And Atakan Karazor. Enzo Millot moved into a central role in midfield while Chase moved to his more natural centre-back position.

However, for long periods of the second half, the hosts continued to get used to possession of the ball and, in contrast to Stuttgart under Sebastian Hoeneß, the Swabians lacked ideas and creativity.

While urgency increased, precision did not. With Ermedin Demirovic When VfB entered the pitch they were still struggling with the ball, making possession seem like a chore.

Hoffenheim remained determined and limited the hosts to block attempts and awkward moments in and around the penalty area, while Stuttgart failed to test sufficiently Oliver Baumann as the encounter meant five minutes of extra time at the end of the game.

But as the clock reached its final moments, VfB was given a lifeline Deniz Undav saw his shot blocked Kevin Akpoguma, with a VAR check classifying the block as a handball.

Gain the upper hand Ermedin Demirovic from twelve meters away, Oliver Baumann I could only watch as the Bosnian striker found himself in a situation where he couldn’t miss the ball from point-blank range.

Stuttgart was huffing and puffing and they were far from their best. However, after a less than ideal evening on home soil, the hosts managed to add another point to their tally.

Player of the game – Anton Stach

Despite his team’s late goal, Anton Stach was the key to Hoffenheim’s fantastic defensive performance away from home.

With nine defensive attempts, Stach played a crucial role in keeping Stuttgart out while also ensuring the team looked rather average in attack.

A resolute performance from the defender that probably deserved much more.