If a coach can be celebrated together with his team in front of the fan curve, it is often a sign of particularly emotional success. In the case of Pellegrino Matarazzo, the coach of VfB Stuttgart, it should have been a feeling of relief on Saturday. And so the words of sports director Sven Mislintat in the interview after the 3-1 (1-0) win in the Baden-Württemberg derby against TSG Hoffenheim were to be understood.
“If you only had five points and then you win against an opponent who is a few years ahead, that’s really worth it,” he said: “We can draw a lot of self-confidence.” On points, the Stuttgart team caught up with Hoffenheim with a win, both are now on eight points. For VfB it was also their first success after five games without a win. “If we look at the entire 90 minutes, it’s a deserved win, we played very well,” said Mislintat.
The defender Marc Oliver Kempf (18th), who already scored his third goal of the season, and Konstantinos Mavropanos (60th) with a strong solo brought the victory on the way. Roberto Massimo (81st) increased to 3-0 before Jacob Bruun Larsen (84th) managed to correct the result.
Hoffenheim were initially the much more dangerous of two erratic teams, had good opportunities in the first half and scored a crossbar from Ihlas Bebou (17th). But TSG had too little willpower to counter the passionate appearance of the hosts: In front of the opening goal, Stuttgart’s entry Chris Führich, who was in the starting line-up for the first time, forced a corner that Omar Marmoush served right on Kempf’s head; Florian Grillitsch and Sargis Adamyan didn’t bother the goal scorer enough.
The leadership gave the Stuttgarters a boost, and they made the encounter balanced by means of a biting duel. And in the second half Mavropanos made his grand entrance. He chased the ball from Adamyan – and could no longer be held. After a run of around 30 meters, he hit the lower left corner – his second goal of the season. “There was a different determination, also a different courage that did us good,” said Matarazzo. “This is a confirmation that we are on the right track.”