1st matchday
5-0 at the start of the league: VfB reacts strongly to the endo shock
Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy celebrates after his goal to make it 1-0. photo
© Tom Weller/dpa
Unimpressed by their captain’s farewell, Stuttgart sweep over VfL Bochum at the start of the Bundesliga. Guirassy and Silas each hit twice, but their bosses curb the euphoria.
The players of VfB Stuttgart quickly formed a circle on the pitch and then let the enthusiastic fans in the stands celebrate them.
75 days after the relegation that was just prevented and the rescue via the relegation against Hamburger SV, the Swabians have made a dream start to the new season of the Bundesliga. Against the shockingly weak VfL Bochum they won 5-0 (2-0) in front of 53,000 spectators on Saturday.
“Of course we’re very happy with the result and the game,” said VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß. “All in all, a really good performance” was what his team said. But it is also “enormously important to classify the game correctly now,” said the coach. Sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth agreed. “In most phases we left no doubt about our success.” Already next Friday at RB Leipzig he expects “a completely different game”.
Endo change caused unrest
Apparently, the people from Stuttgart had decided not to get too euphoric. Two years ago they started the season furiously – with a 5-1 win over Greuther Fürth. In the end, they had to tremble for staying in the league until the last matchday, before Wataru Endo redeemed them with his goal against Cologne.
This time Endo had caused unrest shortly before the league opener. The Japanese international joined Liverpool in England the day before the game against Bochum. VfB was with a significantly improved cash register, but suddenly without its captain and probably the most important player of the past few years.
Unfazed by this, the Stuttgart team put on a surprisingly strong performance against VfL, who suffered the next low blow a week after the embarrassing defeat of the DFB Cup at third division Arminia Bielefeld. Scorer Serhou Guirassy (18th and 77th minute) and winger Silas each with a brace (60th/67th) as well as central defender Dan-Axel Zagadou (38th) scored for VfB, which after two nerve-wracking years in the relegation battle after a carefree playtime.
“Frontrunner, frontrunner” chants from the fans
Woo-yeong Jeong, who came from SC Freiburg in the summer, started for Endo. The South Korean was one of the more conspicuous players at VfB, who had the game almost completely under control. Guirassy was once again the pioneer of victory.
If Sturm-Kante Philipp Hofmann had given the guests the lead in the second minute and had not miserably missed his big chance, the game might have taken a different course. VfB coach Hoeneß also admitted this. However, the Stuttgarters developed a lot of ball possession and increasingly control.
Guirassy scored to make it 1-0 after a through ball from the powerful Hiroki Ito. In the previous season, the 27-year-old was by far the best shooter in Swabia. There have also been rumors of a change around him for weeks. Now Guirassy showed again how valuable he is for VfB. “He was always an important part of the team and the system. He proved that again today,” sporting director Wohlgemuth praised the attacker.
Zagadou made it 2-0 with a header before the break following a corner. After about an hour, the Bochumers, who were still harmless up front, then fell apart defensively. Silas only scored after a cross from Chris Führich, then after a cross from Pascal Stenzel. Then Guirassy – again on a pass from Stenzel – tied his brace. With the fans he already rang in the “front runner, front runner” chants.