Dhe VfB Stuttgart has set a negative club record in the Bundesliga. Due to the well-deserved 0:2 (0:1) in the southwest duel at European Cup contenders SC Freiburg, the uncertain team of coach Pellegrino Matarazzo remained without their own goal for the fifth time in a row. As tables-17. the gap to a non-relegation zone is three points.
Thanks to an own goal by Hiroki Ito (37th) and a goal by Kevin Schade (71st), the Freiburgers continued their performance in the 4-1 round of 16 win in the DFB Cup at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday and moved back up to fifth rank above. In front of only 500 spectators in the Europa-Park stadium due to corona, they won their first league win in the new calendar year. “We have an extreme quality in the team. Except for the 1: 5 in Dortmund, we have shown that regularly in the last few months, ”said Nicolas Höfler on Sky about the first league win in the new calendar year. “If we continue to perform like this, it will be extremely difficult to win games against us.”
“We slacked off too quickly and didn’t take enough risks,” said coach Pellegrino Matarazzo from VfB Stuttgart. “It was unfortunate, but we still have enough time to do things better.” After the slight upswing in the game against RB Leipzig, which the Swabians lost 2-0, Matarazzo had radiated optimism beforehand .
That’s why he decided against a next rotation, even after he had called on most of his players to play against SpVgg Greuther Fürth at the start of the year. Only Borna Sosa returned after surviving a muscle injury. The Croatian should liven up the left wing and supply Sasa Kalajdzic with crosses. Freiburg, who competed unchanged compared to the performance in Sinsheim, were prepared for this.
No penalty, goal in return
The early start of the Swabians in the initial phase was more promising. However, Freiburg mostly knew how to free themselves and came up with the first offensive action (5th) with a header from Maximilian Eggestein. On the other side, Nico Schlotterbeck put his own keeper under pressure. But Mark Flekken was wide awake.
After the courageous initial phase, the Stuttgart team dropped back. The hosts tried to capitalize on this and increased the number of strokes. Vincenzo Grifo slipped the ball over his instep (29′) and Nicolas Höfler fell behind when he had the chance (31′). It then suited the predicament of the Stuttgart team, who were threatened with relegation, that Alexis Tibidi did not receive a penalty after contact in the penalty area with Lukas Kübler, although referee Tobias Stieler watched the scene, and in return a shot by Höfler was deflected by Ito to make it 1-0.
The second half started with a new referee. Like two weeks ago in the game between Hertha BSC and 1. FC Köln, Stieler was injured and was replaced by Christian Dingert. As the fourth official, Stieler saw Freiburgers who continued to make their mark. The will of the VfB professionals could not be denied, because they threw themselves into every ball on the defensive. However, the brilliant idea was missing in the forward movement. A Kalajdzic header didn’t change that (58′).
Silas Katompa Mvumpa should bring fresh impetus after surviving the corona infection. But the 23-year-old returnee was also unlucky after being substituted on. Instead, Kevin Schade, who was still questionable before the game, made everything clear with the 2-0.
