Battling draw against RB Leipzig

Early setback

VfB Stuttgart came away with a point from their opening fixture of the Bundesliga campaign, drawing 1-1 with RB Leipzig. Pellegrino Matarazzo's men put in a committed performance from the off but fell behind in the eighth minute when Christopher Nkunku collected Dani Olmo's pass and slotted it home into the bottom right-hand corner.

By the mid-way point of the first half, however, VfB had managed to get more of a grip on proceedings and the game developed into an end-to-end encounter. The home team equalised shortly after the half-hour mark when Naouirou Ahamada played a one-two with Sasa Kalajdzic before curling the ball into the far corner from the edge of the box. It was the 20-year-old Frenchman's first Bundesliga goal.

VfB created a number of other chances before half-time, the best of which fell to Konstantinos Mavropanos. After dribbling forward from midfield, the centre-back unleashed a powerful shot from just outside the area that crashed back off the post.

Open game

The match remained an open affair after the interval and new VfB signing Josha Vagnoman had an early chance to take the lead, but fired wide of Peter Gulacsi's goal in the 49^th minute. Leipzig turned the screw in the last 20 minutes as they looked for a winner but while Nkunku (68') and Willi Orban (72') had decent chances, neither could get the better of Florian Müller, leaving both teams with a point at the final whistle.

The goals:

8th minute (0-1): Olmo slides the ball into the penalty area to Nkunku, who slots the ball diagonally past Müller and into the net.

31st minute (1-1): Ahamada exchanges passes with Kalajdzic and buries the ball into the far corner from 20 yards out.

Reaction:

Pellegrino Matarazzo, VfB head coach: “We were a little bit fortunate to get a point but it was by no means undeserved. We had problems adapting to the game in the first half an hour, but we managed to turn the game around after that, which obviously changed the balance of things, and we enjoyed a good period up to the break. Leipzig are the kind of opponent who can really hurt you and that’s exactly what they did. We struggled but the lads fought like lions out there. They all defended as if their lives depended on it and if anything did get through, then Flo Müller was always in the right place at the right time. I’m really pleased with the way the team performed and kept its shape.”

Florian Müller: “All of us contributed to the point that we got today, and I’m just pleased to have played my part. ”