VfB battle to draw in Munich

Early lead

VfB Stuttgart earned a creditable 2-2 draw away to champions FC Bayern Munich on Bundesliga Matchday 33. Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side were organised and committed throughout the entire game and took the lead through Tiago Tomás after just eight minutes. Omar Marmoush spurned an opportunity to make it 2-0 on the counter-attack midway through the first half, firing wide with only Manuel Neuer to beat. Bayern took full advantage, turning the game on its head before the interval thanks to goals from Serge Gnabry (35’) and Thomas Müller (44’).

Kalajdzic strikes

Sasa Kalajdzic netted a deserved equaliser seven minutes into the second half and perhaps should have made it 3-2 just 60 seconds later, but the Austrian shot straight at Neuer from a good position. Substitute Philipp Förster also failed to hit the target at the end of another flowing VfB counter, but the visitors had the woodwork to thank for keeping Bayern out in the closing stages as the teams were made to settle for a share of the spoils.

Goals

8^th minute: A VfB counter ends with Marmoush feeding Tomás, who puts the visitors 1-0 in front from the edge of the box.

35^th minute: Gnabry escapes the attention of Borna Sosa and finds the far corner from the edge of the six-yard area, beating Dinos Mavropanos on the goal line.

44^th minute: Müller collects the ball on the turn inside the penalty area and fires Bayern 2-1 ahead.

52^nd minute: A fabulous Sosa cross is headed home by Kalajdzic to complete the scoring.

Reaction

VfB head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo: “I’m very happy with my team’s performance. We created a lot of chances and could have won the game, but we’re happy with the point – Bayern also had a lot of opportunities. In the second half we wanted to be more courageous, be more comfortable on the ball and control the game more. Everything remains up in the air. The fans are just outstanding and are always there to support us at every away game. That helps us a lot.”

Sasa Kalajdzic: “It’s an extremely important point for us – and a fair one. We had a few clear-cut opportunities which we could have finished off better, but Bayern also had good chances that Flo [Müller] did well to save. We showed heart and courage on the pitch and also had a bit of luck.”