Three points at home against Union Berlin

Sebastian Hoeneß’s team controlled the first half but still allowed the visitors a number of opportunities, and they were lucky that Yorbe Vertessen failed to make the most of a gilt-edged chance as early as the third minute.

Guirassy gives VfB the lead

Serhou Guirassy then showed Vertessen how it should be done in the 19^th minute, latching onto an excellent pass from Atakan Karazor and keeping his cool in front of the Union goal to notch his 21^st goal of the season and give Stuttgart a 1-0 lead. Josha Vagnoman then could not convert what would have been an excellent assist from Guirassy just before the break. 

Nübel keeps Union at bay

At the beginning of the second half, Alexander Nübel pulled off a pair of excellent saves from Lucas Tousart (48’) and Kevin Volland (49’) to prevent Union from equalising, while his opposite number Frederik Rönnow showed great reflexes in keeping out a Chris Führich effort from distance that would have doubled VfB’s lead (52’).

Führich makes it 2-0

Führich then side-footed a lovely shot from 15 yards out into the bottom right-hand corner for the all-important second goal to secure the three points – a result which sees Stuttgart solidify third spot in the Bundesliga.

Red card: VfB had a one-man advantage from the 69^th minute onwards after Union’s Andras Schäfer was sent off for a foul on Josha Vagnoman.

Goals

19^th minute: A pass from Karazor sets Guirassy free and he puts the ball past Rönnow to give his side a 1-0 lead.

65^th minute: Führich slides a fine shot into the bottom right-hand corner to make it 2-0 for VfB.