VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß stepped in front of the coaching bench, his professionals crept frustrated from the square. After the last minute defeat against Werder Bremen the European Cup qualification via the Bundesliga for VfB Stuttgart has moved far away. «This is certainly a small damper. We had done a lot, »said VfB midfielder Atakan Karazor after the 1-2 (1: 1) and the dismissal for Nick Woltemade. Hoeneß spoke of a wrong decision. «It was simply not a yellow-red card. That has a thread flavor, »said the Stuttgart coach.
With their third victory in series thanks to double scorer Oliver Burke, the Bremen made a small leap in the table and are allowed to dream of the first European Cup participation since the 2010/11 season. «We worked hard. And the bottom line was that it was deserved, »said Werder’s entangleman Leonardo Bittencourt.
Differentiation controversial
In a brisk encounter, the home side, whose trainer Hoeneß had called for the start of a mini series, took the lead through Leonidas Stergiou (19th). Werder fought his way back in front of 60,000 spectators in the first round and, thanks to Burke, was able to cheer for the equalization (32nd).
After the dismissal of U21 national player Woltemade in 65th minute, Werder turned the game through the second goal of the 28-year-old Scots with the end of the regular season. The yellow-red card for the native of Bremen Woltemade was very controversial overall. Even Werder coach Ole Werner said: “This is not necessarily yellow-red.”
If it doesn’t work with the targeted sixth place in the table from Stuttgart’s point of view, you could still qualify for the Europa League with a win in the final of the DFB Cup on May 24th. In the Berlin Olympic Stadium, the German runner -up meets third division team Arminia Bielefeld as a favorite.
Hoeneß had warned of the increasing form of North German. The fact that this warning was justified was shown right at the beginning. VfB goalkeeper Alexander Nübel had to lynen both against Burke (7th) and against Senne, who after a corner the ball hit his back and from there to Nübel (9th).
Woltemade shot blocked
But the Stuttgart people had also arrived in the game for a long time. Woltemade – thanks to its shape recently on everyone’s lips – failed with a shooting attempt that was blocked by Amos Pieper. Stergiou made it better just nine minutes later. The advanced full -back completed a precise pass from Angelo Stiller.
The home side had the game a little better under control after the tour. However, Jamie Leweling missed the 2-0 – a failure that should take revenge. For a long time, SVW coach Werner had pulled the shield cap with the Werder coat of arms deep in the face, almost followed the game. But when Burke escaped and equalized after one of Finn Jeltsch, the 36-year-old also showed emotions.
Chabot has to go down
He had a similar appearance to the 2-2 in the first half of the season. “We want to do it again from the approach and quality to make a game at eye level again,” he said. And indeed: Werder had other options that remained unused.
The Stuttgarters had to digest a further setback after the goal. In the event of a clarification attempt, defense chief Jeff Chabot suffered a thigh injury and had to be replaced.
The first chance after the restart belonged to the Swabian. In the 56th minute, the first bars of the goal anthem from the speakers were already tasting. But the music quickly fell silent because Woltemade had headed past the target. It was the striker’s last positive action, because a little later the game was over for him. Referee Daniel Schlager showed Woltemade the yellow-red card. Werder now pressed. Nübel initially parried some chances before Burke made the victory perfect for the guests.
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