Job half done thanks to Gomez

For the UEFA Cup first leg clash with Cherno More Varna, VfB coach Armin Veh opted for a 3-2-4-1 system with Mario Gomez acting as the lone striker. The trainer made two changes to his starting eleven, compared to those who took to the pitch against Hoffenheim at the weekend. The wide positions in the midfield were this time filled by Ludovic Magnin and Ricardo Osorio, which meant Roberto Hilbert and Arthur Boka had to initially settle for a spot on the subs bench.
In front of a somewhat meagre crowd of around 2,000 spectators, VfB created early chances through Sami Khedira and Mario Gomez but failed to make use of the openings. The first half proved a relatively dour affair with few talking points until three minutes before the half time break when the hosts took the lead. Yordan Yurukov delivered a cross from the left and Tanko Dyakov rose highest to head past Jens Lehmann and make it 0-1 for Varna.

Gomez brace spares VfB blushes

For the second half, Veh brought Cacau and Roberto Hilbert in place of Jan Simak and Ricardo Osorio in order to offer his side a new dynamic on their way forward. It took until the 66th minute but the move finally paid off as Mario Gomez stole away in the penalty area to make it 1-1. With fifteen minutes to go, the Varna keeper Hmaruc was spared an embarrassing moment. The goalkeeper clumsily spilled a shot from Martin Lanig directly to the feet of Gomez, who easily netted, but the linesman flagged for offside and the strike was cancelled out. Nine minutes from time Gomez struck once again, after some impressive play from Magnin to make it 2-1 and hand VfB a hard fought out but very important lead going into the return leg at home in Stuttgart.