24th matchday
Premier class in view: Serious Stuttgart wins in Wolfsburg
Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy scores against Wolfsburg’s goalkeeper Koen Casteels from the penalty spot. photo
© Swen Pförtner/dpa
Stuttgart is getting closer and closer to the Champions League thanks to two Guirassy goals in the 3-2 win in Wolfsburg. In between things get strange: the referee asks for an unusual announcement.
VfB Stuttgart continues on course for the Champions League. The confident Swabians deservedly won 3-2 (1-0) in the Bundesliga against VfL Wolfsburg, who are still winless this year, and are third in the table, seven points ahead of fifth-placed RB Leipzig, who are currently no longer qualified for the premier class . At the same time, VfB even reduced the gap to runner-up FC Bayern Munich to just four points.
Twice striker Serhou Guirassy (14th and 54th with a penalty kick) and Josha Vagnoman (78th) scored the goals for Sebastian Hoeneß’s team, Joakim Maehle (50th) and substitute Lukas Nmecha (83rd) were successful for VfL . The 28,917 spectators in the Volkswagen Arena saw a much more eventful second half. Things got strange in a different way in the first half when referee Benjamin Brand gave an unusual instruction. After a little more than 30 minutes, a VfL employee asked over the stadium loudspeakers that the whistle should be stopped at the referee’s request because it was disrupting the flow of the game. The fans of both teams acknowledged the announcement with deafening whistles.
VfB coach Hoeneß recently unintentionally took a break for health reasons. He only returned to training on Friday after his gastrointestinal upset and saw a brisk start from both teams. The coach could count on goalkeeper Alexander Nübel again. The 27-year-old had recently missed three games due to injury. The loan didn’t have to do much work. On the other hand, he was able to enjoy watching his colleague and top striker Guirassy take the lead with a powerful header. VfL defender Moritz Jenz had given the second most dangerous attacker too much space.
Afterwards, the guests took things a little more slowly. VfL made the game, but remained too complicated and slow offensively. The club from Auto-Stadt last won in Darmstadt (1-0) on December 16th. Coach Niko Kovac’s team sneaked through the second half of the season: VfL got six draws in the new year. A draw wasn’t really within reach for Wolfsburg until the break.
The second half started very badly for the Wolves. Only the Danish defender Maehle scored the equalizer after a VAR comparison. Just two minutes later he caused the penalty, which Guirassy converted to take the lead again and thus scored his 20th goal of the season.
Vagnoman and Guirassy then each scored the supposed 3-1, but were each offside. Vagnoman finally increased the score; the goal from Lukas Nmecha, who had only recently returned from a long injury, was checked for a handball, but it counted. VfL responded again, nothing more than Nmecha’s goal.