Late equaliser denies VfB victory

Match summary

Fans at the MHP Arena witnessed a cautious Union side from the outset, defending tightly and aggressively. As such, Sebastian Hoeneß’s team initially struggled to make any inroads in the final third. Chris Führich was shackled by several defenders on the left, while Deniz Undav constantly found himself surrounded by opposition players.

First chance for Union

VfB rode their luck in the 14^th minute when Andrej Ilic’s long-range effort crashed off the right-hand post. At the other end of the pitch, Angelo Stiller found Maximilian Mittelstädt with a fine pass, but his shot from the edge of the box fizzed narrowly over the bar. Undav’s first sight of goal arrived in the 37^th minute, and he too went close to scoring but could only hit the side netting.

Goalless at the break

The away side remained awkward opponents, as ever, and were solid at the back prior to the interval. VfB could not be faulted for effort but subsequently found their goalscoring chances limited, leaving the game poised at 0-0 at half-time.

Chances at both ends

Undav had an opportunity to break the deadlock early in the second half, only for his close-range effort to be thwarted by Frederick Rönnow (49’). Union likewise went close when Ilic’s deflected shot from inside the penalty area narrowly missed the target.

Führich strikes

Stuttgart were rewarded for their attacking endeavour shortly before the half-hour mark when Ramon Hendriks charged down the right flank and passed inside to Führich, who drilled a low shot into the left-hand corner from the edge of the area (59’).

Late leveller

That forced Union onto the front foot in search of an equaliser, although VfB could have landed the decisive blow in the 80^th minute when Stiller fired over. It was a miss Hoeneß’s side would come to rue, as Woo-Yeong Jeong rifled in for the visitors just three minutes later. There were no further goals, leaving Stuttgart with a point from their opening fixture in the second half of the Bundesliga season.

Goals

59^th minute: Führich leaves Rönnow no chance with his shot from the edge of the box into the bottom left-hand corner.

83^rd minute: Stanley Nsoki cuts the ball from the left back into the middle for Jeong, who lashes in the equaliser from ten metres out.