Since the coach in Stuttgart was named Sebastian Hoeneß, VfB haven’t lost in the Bundesliga. Nothing changed against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
On Saturday (April 29, 2023) Stuttgart won almost 2-1 (1-0) against Mönchengladbach. The club had previously won a home game in mid-February. It was the fourth league game under the new coach. Hoeneß and Stuttgart, that seems to fit.
In the relegation battle of the Bundesliga, that was already a Stuttgart sign. VfB now has 28 points, but scored more goals and conceded less than their equal-ranked competitor VfL Bochum. Stuttgart therefore climbs to 15th place in the table. The Gladbachers remained without a win for the third time in a row, in tenth place with 36 points they are in no man’s land in the table.
The decisive man was Stuttgart’s Tanguy Coulibaly, 22. When he took the penalty in the 83rd minute and converted it to make it 2-1, he had only been on the pitch for ten minutes. It was goal number three of the season for Coulibaly. And it was the decision in Stuttgart.
Two penalties in just five minutes
The goal was preceded by a duel between Stuttgart’s Tiago Tomás and opponent Ko Itakura. Gladbach’s defender used his hands to help and thus prevented a clear goal chance. According to the TV pictures, referee Tobias Welz showed Itakura red.
Less than 180 seconds earlier there had already been a penalty, since it was still for Gladbach. Stuttgart’s Dan-Axel Zagadou was in his own penalty area when he shot and fended off a shot with his hand. Julian Weigl took responsibility and pushed the ball low into the middle to make it 1-1 in the meantime (78′).
Guirassy with the hoe – lead for VfB
Stuttgart’s striker Serhou Guirassy scored the first goal of the afternoon. The goal came from assist by Waldemar Anton and it was nice to see what Guirassy did with that pass. He stood with his back to the gate and picked up the hoe. The plan worked, it was his eighth goal of the season (22nd).
However, the scene was then reviewed for a long time by the VAR. It had to be clarified whether a pass to Enzo Millot came from teammate Anton or from Gladbach’s Florian Neuhaus. It was a tricky scene. Referee Welz ruled that Neuhaus was last on the ball. Consequently, Millot was not offside and the goal counted.
Stuttgart before an important game against Hertha
This coming weekend, VfB Stuttgart will be away at competitor Hertha BSC for important points in the fight against relegation (Saturday, May 6th, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). Mönchengladbach welcomes VfL Bochum at the same time.