Stuttgart remain winless in loss to league leaders Union
To close out Matchday 9, Union squeaked out a 1-0 win to keep their lead atop the Bundesliga standings and send Stuttgart into further chaos. This could have been Pellegrino Matarazzo's last game in charge of Stuttgart, who now sit in 17th place.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
To start things off, Frederik Rønnow made a brilliant save on a set-piece that would've given Stuttgart an early 1-0 advantage. Later in the half, a swerving hit from Hiroki Ito nearly caught out Rønnow yet again, but he made another excellent stop to keep the game all square.
Stuttgart were pressing high up the pitch and looked like a team playing with a chip on their shoulder amidst their difficult start in league play. Nearing the end of the half, Serhou Guirassy's header barely missed the target, keeping Rønnow on his toes between the sticks.
The game remained scoreless heading into the second period in an exciting, up-and-down battle. Stuttgart supporters kept willing their team on, who struggled to completely find a way through Union's well-organized defense.
Union's Jordan was hardly heard from up front, as he was replaced by Kevin Behrens with about 25 minutes remaining. But, the capital club still broke through even without their star striker.
Paul Jaeckel rose highest on a corner from Niko Gießelmann to finally get the game's first goal in the 76th minute. Moments later, Stuttgart somehow didn't score following several incredible chances right in front of goal to the disbelief of the home crowd.
Things got even worse for Stuttgart when Guirassy was sent off with his second yellow card in the 83rd minute. Despite decent last-minute chances, Pellegrino Matarazzo's side now sit 17th and remain without a league win on the season.
Stuttgart play Bochum next weekend in a major bottom of the table battle, while Union have a rematch set against Malmö midweek before facing Dortmund for Matchday 10.