1. FC Nürnberg
| 1-0 | Drmic | (43. Min) |
| 2-0 | Drmic | (54. Min) |
VfB Stuttgart
Gotoku Sakai
Stats 
Too little
Just not enough! On Tuesday evening, VfB slumped to a 0-2 defeat away to direct relegation threatened opponents 1. FC Nürnberg. Josip Drmic hits a brace for the hosts, causing VfB Stuttgart to slide back into 17th place.
Trainer Huub Stevens made just one change to his side from the win at HSV on Saturday, with Martin Harnik returning from suspension to replace Moritz Leitner. The crowd of 35,000 were treated to a true relegation battle in the first quarter hour. With 16 minutes on the clock, VfB had the best chance of the match to that point, with Konstantin Rausch cracking a powerful drive from distance against the crossbar.
Josip Drmic snatches a break
The tension was clear to see from both sides. The ‘Club’ began to take more control of proceedings. In the 36th minute, VfB had Sven Ulreich for keeping his side in the game, as the keeper got down to block from the unmarked Josip Drmic. Just minutes later though, there was nothing the keeper could do as Drmic slotted home to make it 1-0 for the hosts going into the break.
At half time, trainer Huub Stevens brought in Timo Werner and Alexandru Maxim for Martin Harnik and Konstantin Rausch, to add some pace to the attack. The second period got off to a pacy beginning. Ibrahima Traoré went on a sprinting dribble forward, but was unable to test the FCN keeper with his subsequent shot (52‘). Just two minutes later, the ball fell to Josip Drmic, who duly increased his side’s advantage to 2-0.
Quote for the game
Huub Stevens: "Nürnberg knew what was at stake here. We stared well, but stopped playing football after 20 minutes and allowed the game to get away from us. That’s something we need to discuss – it’s just not acceptable." Post match comments
Carlos Gruezo makes Bundesliga debut
Nuremberg’s second goal knocked the attacking wind out of the visitors from Stuttgart, who had problems finding any grip on the game. There was little by the way of goal-mouth action by mid-way through the second half. In the 69th minute, Carlos Gruezo was introduced in place of Gotoku Sakai, for the winter signing from Ecuador to make his Bundesliga debut.
With the clock steadily ticking against VfB, Stevens‘ men were unable to produce much in the attack. In the 77th minute, Vedad Ibisevic headed into the path of Alexandru Maxim, but the Romanian’s shot was stopped well by Raphael Schäfer. Further chances late on for Georg Niedermeier (84‘), Vedad Ibisevic (87‘) and Timo Werner (88‘) also failed to find the target and thus, 1. FC Nürnberg held onto their 2-0 win, leaving VfB still desperately seeking points, as they prepare to host Borussia Dortmund this Saturday.
