On Saturday afternoon in Stuttgart, two situations of footballing rarity occurred within 120 seconds. The first took place in the VfB penalty area, where defender Dan-Axel Zagadou played the ball with his hand in the 78th minute – and then didn’t complain. Neither Zagadou, nor his colleagues, nor his coach ran to referee Tobias Welz, and the home crowd hardly protested either. Zagadou’s defensive action against a shot by Ko Itakura, apparently borrowed from volleyball, was actually a non-debatable handball – something you rarely see in the wild in the Bundesliga these days.
Julian Weigl immediately equalized with a penalty to make it 1-1 for Borussia Mönchengladbach. And if a second rarity had not happened shortly afterwards, the situation for VfB would probably have become very serious. Because normally the questionable honor of a shot from eleven meters, which can potentially make a difference in the fortunes and misfortunes of an entire club, is usually not given to young substitutes.
However, this is what happened: Itakura rushed after a Stuttgart attack a few moments later, only catching Tiago Tomas with a judo hold, which meant another penalty. Itakura even saw the red card and because that lasted almost two minutes thanks to a VAR intervention, young Tanguy Coulibaly had a particularly long time to think about one of the more important shots of his career in front of the fan curve. He converted the penalty to a 2:1, which was of the utmost importance for the Swabians in the relegation battle. Now, thanks to the better goal difference, they are no longer in a relegation or relegation zone for the first time since the beginning of March.
Stuttgart plays in two-thirds of the field like a team that is on its way to Europe
Coulibaly also shot because the two designated shooters, Serhou Guirassy and Silas, had already been substituted. “He took every penalty yesterday, that’s why he took it,” said coach Sebastian Hoeneß after the game about his young attacking man, in whose career tragically the number of injuries almost equals the number of goals scored. But now, in his 62nd Bundesliga appearance, he decided for the first time a game that had worked towards such a high point – again. Because it still doesn’t seem to go without drama at VfB Stuttgart in the relegation battle.
The start on Saturday was relatively calm. The Stuttgart came on the pitch with a highly professional and perfectly adjusted starting eleven, which in the first half dominated Gladbach, who were tenth in the table, almost at will. Stuttgart played in two-thirds of the field like a team that is on its way to Europe, only in the storm was recognizable: Table restricting at VfB is the quality of the last pass before the goal, which remains unsatisfactory even under Hoeneß.
VfB Stuttgart haven’t lost since Sebastian Hoeneß took over as coach.
(Foto: Peter Hartenfelser/Imago)
The Swabians missed the best opportunities through Guirassy, Silas and the playful Enzo Millot. For the well-deserved lead in the 22nd minute it took a shot from defender Waldemar Anton, a remarkable back-heel from Guirassy and also a bit of luck that Millot hadn’t been flagged for offside beforehand. The goal gave momentum until the break – but not beyond.
“We didn’t come out well because maybe our head got in,” Hoeneß later poetically summed up the phase at the beginning of the second half, when VfB suddenly gave Gladbach much more space and seemed unfocused. The important Guirassy also had to be substituted with a head injury, and for a short time the game seemed to tip over. Zagadou unnecessarily lost his balance and therefore stretched his hands high in areas where they shouldn’t have a Bundesliga defender – and the first penalty came.
However, it is part of the history of VfB Stuttgart in the five games under coach Hoeneß that this team can develop impressive energy, especially after defeats. The fact that Coulibaly not only scored to make it 2-1, but also missed good chances of scoring more goals in the minutes that followed, showed that VfB had a well-deserved home win against Gladbach. One that was dramatic again, which has long been accepted in Stuttgart.
“It doesn’t matter how,” was the brief but clear message from goalscorer Guirassy on Twitter after the game under a photo, showing him with a turban and young Coulibaly with his tongue out. And the excellent goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow gave an outlook for the coming weeks that was testimony to a team’s basic trust in itself – but at the same time read as a warning for cardiologists based in Stuttgart: “If every game is drama and we can win I live with it.”
