Deserved away win

Match summary

Nübel saves penalty

In the 11^th minute, a cross from Franck Honorat struck Jamie Leweling’s arm and referee Sören Storks pointed to the penalty spot. Haris Tabakovic’s effort was aimed towards the bottom left-hand corner, but Alexander Nübel kept it out with a superb block.

Leweling opens the scoring

With half an hour gone, Nikolas Nartey’s right-wing cross into the box was only partially cleared by Joe Scally. The ball fell kindly for Leweling, who needed no second invitation to slam the ball into the left-hand corner from seven metres out.

Half-time lead

Sebastian Hoeneß’s men firmly seized control of the game after that, dictating the pace and rhythm with some eye-catching passages of play as they kept their opponents in a chokehold, ultimately taking a 1-0 lead in at the break.

Chance for Demirovic

VfB nearly doubled their advantage early in the second half when Badredine Bouanani and Atakan Karazor worked the ball to Ermedin Demirovic, whose shot on the turn from nine metres out was saved by Moritz Nicolas (49’).

Stuttgart remained on top and it was only thanks to the Gladbach goalkeeper that the visitors did not extend their lead further, the custodian thwarting Nartey in the 62^nd minute. Five minutes after that, substitute Chris Führich embarked on a fine run before finding Nartey inside the area, but his attempt narrowly missed the target.

Scally own goal

VfB’s decisive second goal eventually arrived in the 68^th minute when a corner from Führich struck Scally on the back and flew into the Gladbach net from close range.

Undav seals the deal

Supersub Deniz Undav secured all three points in the closing stages at Borussia-Park with a shot from the edge of the box to make the final scoreline 3-0 (74’).

Goals

30^th minute: Scally’s attempted clearance from Nartey’s cross lands straight at Leweling’s feet. The attacker takes a touch to get the ball under control and then buries it into the bottom left-hand corner.

68^th minute: Scally inadvertently nudges a Führich corner into his own net with his back.

74^th minute: Angelo Stiller plays the ball into Undav on the edge of the Gladbach box. He drills a low effort into the bottom left-hand corner to put the game to bed.