The final phase as a symbol for the entire season: VfB Stuttgart not only loses three points against Hoffenheim, but also the number of casualties seems to increase.
Perplexed, speechless, desperate – that’s how the VfB management looked last week when the victory against Bochum was given away in injury time. A bitter blow, after all, the three points would have been so important after seven games without a win.
Now, a week later, the world of the Swabians looks a little darker. This time, Stuttgart not only gave away a three-pointer in their neighbourly duel in Sinsheim, they even lost – although the score was still 1:0 for VfB until the 85th minute.
Kalajdzic: “You mustn’t let yourself be pushed into it like that “
“That can’t happen,” Sasa Kalajdzic scolded on the DAZN microphone afterwards. “The last ten minutes reflect the whole season. You can’t let yourself be pushed in like that, we could have attacked faster up front. It’s a bit our own fault,” analysed the Austrian, who came on at the break and assisted for the lead.
Even in the first period Chris Führich had a great chance to make it 1:0, but shot free at the post from three metres. Then Orel Mangala and Pascal Stenzel had to be substituted with injuries, the latter replacing Borna Sosa, who was absent at short notice with a knee contusion. The VfB would have had to pay dearly for a possible three points anyway, so no more points will be added to their meagre tally and the sickbay is likely to expand – the next bitter setback for Stuttgart.
“It’s extremely difficult to cope with,” said coach Pellegrino Matarazzo after the game, but he was immediately combative: “I can promise that this team will get up again. It is time to reward ourselves,” said the coach. But he also found critical words – and these went in the direction of Konstantinos Mavropanos, who had already caused the penalty for Bochum’s equaliser the previous week through his impetuous deployment in the penalty area.
“If ‘Dinos’ goes, he must have it “
This time the Greek did not look good when conceding the second goal. “That would have been defensible,” said his coach. “If ‘Dinos’ goes, he has to have it.” He didn’t have it, though, but just faked it awkwardly, “stealing” it from Waldemar Anton, who was behind him. A fraction of a second later, Christoph Baumgartner scored the 2:1 – and VfB experienced its next late as well as violent neck blow.
