VfB will continue in the Bundesliga against Werder Bremen on Saturday (3:30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky). Until then, the runner-up must try to shake off the surprising slap in the Champions League. Red Star had not yet scored a point in the premier class until Wednesday evening, but they then tore VfB apart at times after their early lead through Ermedin Demirovic (5th minute). The Stuttgart team is therefore further behind the first 24 places in the table, which entitle them to advance at the end of the league phase.
Coach Sebastian Hoeneß said they were “very disappointed” with the performance. And “angry and upset” about the missed opportunity to improve their own starting position in the competition. From now on you have to score points and you won’t be looking for alibis, said the VfB coach. The next European Cup opponents are Young Boys Bern from Switzerland on December 11th. Hoeneß explained that one “can no longer afford such an appearance.”
Immediately after the game in the cauldron in Belgrade, the 42-year-old presented a considerable list of deficiencies. His team “played imprecisely, never really picked up rhythm and had control, slowed down or picked up the pace at the wrong moments,” Hoeneß listed, among other things. Defensively, there was a lack of proper grading and offensive assertiveness. “That was nothing,” admitted national player Angelo Stiller, who was visibly fed up.
