Muheim produces late magic again as Hamburg stun Stuttgart

Despite facing their third away fixture in just seven days, Sebastian Hoeneß's Stuttgart side started brightly in Hamburg, dominating possession early and creating several promising opportunities.

However, it was Hamburg who posed the initial attacking threat, as Fabio Vieira intercepted a misplaced pass from Angelo Stiller in the fifth minute but failed to capitalise, sending his effort wide of Dennis Seimen's goal.

The visitors gradually asserted themselves, with Deniz Undav meeting a delivery from Bilal El Khannouss and directing it over the crossbar with his shoulder, before Hamburg-born Ermedin Demirović headed another cross from the Moroccan wide in the 15th minute.

Stuttgart enjoyed over 80% possession in the opening stages, but Merlin Polzin's side grew into the contest and nearly took the lead in the 27th minute when a corner from Miro Muheim found Sebastian Bornauw, whose header deflected off Vieira and forced Seimen into an impressive save.

The visitors continued to threaten and came closest to breaking the deadlock six minutes before the interval, as a well-executed counterattack saw Jamie Leweling pick out Undav in the penalty area, but the Stuttgart captain's first-time effort struck the post.

Demirović subsequently saw a header denied by Daniel Heuer Fernandes, ensuring both teams entered the interval goalless.

Yussuf Poulsen nearly opened the scoring for the hosts just three minutes into the second half, striking the outside of the post following a delivery from David Møller Wolfe.

As in previous fixtures against Paderborn and Slovan Bratislava, Stuttgart sought to regain control early in the second half, although Hamburg had begun to gain the upper hand.

Six minutes after his earlier attempt, Poulsen came even closer to scoring, smashing a Fabio Vieira delivery against the crossbar, with Seimen subsequently tipping the ball over to prevent it from dropping into the net.

Less than a minute earlier, Demirović had headed narrowly wide at the opposite end, as the encounter developed into an end-to-end contest following Stuttgart's early dominance.

The visitors had another excellent opportunity in the 58th minute when Undav attempted an acrobatic volley, which Heuer Fernandes brilliantly denied, as the second half continued at a frenetic pace with the Volksparkstadion anticipating the opening goal.

Heading into the weekend, a point would have represented a respectable result for HSV, although their second-half opportunities meant they could well have sensed a missed opportunity had they failed to find the net.

However, in the 88th minute, Hamburg finally made the breakthrough, with Muheim hammering home a sensational long-range effort to beat Seimen and send the Volksparkstadion into raptures.

It was the Swiss international's second dramatic late winner in the space of a week, having also struck in stoppage time against Hoffenheim last weekend.

For Stuttgart, the defeat will raise further concerns about their ability to maintain control of matches. Despite dominating the opening stages and creating several excellent opportunities, they once again struggled to establish a consistent rhythm as the contest became increasingly stretched.

Hoeneß will carry those concerns into Tuesday's Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid, while Hamburg can celebrate their first clean sheet of the season and second home victory of the campaign, completing an impressive turnaround after a dismal start to the season.