There were many different storylines surrounding SCF’s Bundesliga visit to VfB Stuttgart. It was Swabia against Baden, fifth against seventh, and Europa League qualifier against Europa League qualifier. Both teams had been in midweek European action. VfB had to settle for a place in the play-offs despite a victory over Young Boys. Conversely, SC have directly qualified for the round of 16 despite falling to defeat against Lille OSC.

Julian Schuster and his coaching staff made four changes to their starting line-up, as Jordy Makengo, Max Rosenfelder, Derry Scherhant and Igor Matanovic came in for Christian Günter, Bruno Ogbus, Vincenzo Grifo and Junior Adamu. Sebastian Hoeneß made a full seven alterations from the 3-2 win over the Swiss outfit. Jeff Chabot, Finn Jeltsch, Angelo Stiller and Deniz Undav were the only players who were selected to start both matches.

Freiburg started well in front of 60,000 spectators at a sold-out MHP Arena. They were often successful in preventing the hosts from launching attacks, and also remained compact defensively. The first chance of the game fell to the visitors, as Yuito Suzuki was just inches away from beating Alexander Nübel with an effort from around 23 yards (4’). In the 19th minute, Stuttgart were calling for a penalty when a cross from the right hit Rosenfelder’s outstretched arm. Noah Atubolu then reacted well to keep out Josha Vagnoman’s header from the resulting corner.

Ginter clears off the line

VfB improved towards the middle of the first half and had many long periods of possession. Deniz Undav came close to putting Stuttgart ahead in the 28th minute, but Matthias Ginter cleared off the line after Atubolu was beaten. The Germany international had another big opportunity just three minutes later. His low shot from around 13 yards went narrowly wide.

Striker Undav was involved again – this time in the build-up – with the hosts’ next chance. Nikolas Nartey’s header was saved by Atubolu (41’). Freiburg forward Igor Matanovic himself set up an opportunity two minutes later, when he flicked a long ball into the path of Derry Scherhant. The winger, who had only Nübel to beat, maybe took the shot on slightly too early. The net rippled, but it was only the side netting, and it remained goalless at the break.

An eventful start to the second half

“We had some good moments on the counterattack after half time and could have taken the lead,” said Julian Schuster after the game. The SC head coach and his staff initially decided against making personnel changes, but their side still managed to create three good opportunities immediately after the restart. The best of these fell to Suzuki, who suddenly found himself through on goal in the 48th minute, though he was still around 65 yards out and had Finn Jeltsch in hot pursuit. The VfB defender showed his pace against the speedy Japan international and blocked his effort at the crucial moment. Soon after, Maximilian Eggestein fired wide following a long throw (49’) and Johan Manzambi also came very close to finding the net. At the other end, Nartey played in Bilal El Khannouss, but Atubolu cleverly narrowed the angle and denied him in a one-on-one situation.

The second half stayed more even than the first, although SCF mainly threatened on the counter. In the 71st minute, Nübel kept out a deflected effort from Suzuki, who had cut inside from the left. Partially due to the multiple stoppages for substitutions, the match quietened down a bit after a breathless start to the second period. However, the tension was still palpable.

It was VfB who had luck on their side in the closing stages. Shortly before the end of the 90 minutes, substitute Ermedin Demirovic, who had previously scored a scissor kick and a backheel against Freiburg, placed a half volley into the corner from around 20 yards out (89’). Fellow substitute Bruno Ogbus had a huge chance to equalise in injury time after a cross from the left, but his shot from close range was brilliantly saved by Nübel (90+2’).

“It was quite an even game today in terms of the goalscoring opportunities. A draw would have been a fair outcome,” said Julian Schuster after full time. “This is very harsh on the team, because they deserved more for their performance than this result.”

Photo: Achim Keller