Undav breaks duck to put Stuttgart on track for Bratislava rout

After edging past Viking in their opening Champions League clash of the term, VfB Stuttgart travelled to Bratislava, aiming to secure six points from their first two matches and continue their strong start in the competition.

Both sides spent the opening period tentatively, probing for weaknesses, and it wasn't until the 15th minute that the first real chance of the match emerged.

Chris Führich, easily Stuttgart's liveliest player in the first half, delivered a superb cross from the right that found Ramon Hendriks perfectly placed in the centre of the penalty area; however, the Dutchman could only send his free header over the bar, spurning a golden opportunity for the visitors.

Over the next 15 minutes, VfB continued to control the game, with Deniz Undav involved in a scramble inside the box after a teasing Führich free-kick, only for Dominik Takac to make a smart save and keep the scores level.

Five minutes later, Undav finally broke his drought, scoring his first goal of the season and ending a frustrating run in front of goal.

Angelo Stiller picked up the ball some 35 yards from goal and picked out Undav in space on the left side of the box, where the striker took a touch and drilled a left-footed shot into the bottom corner to beat Takac.

VfB remained on the front foot heading into half-time, and in the 34th minute, fullback Josha Vagnoman nearly added another spectacular strike to his growing highlight reel, only to see his powerful long-range effort crash against the bar.

After the break, Bratislava thought they'd found a way back into the match in the 53rd minute when Suleiman Camara finished off a move that began with Takac's long goal kick via Andraz Sporar, but celebrations were short-lived as the flag immediately went up for offside.

A lengthy VAR check ensued to examine Sporar's involvement, but after much deliberation, officials decided to uphold the original offside call.

With Camara's effort ruled out and the score unchanged, Stuttgart looked to capitalise at the other end, where Dzenan Pejcinovic had a golden opportunity to double VfB's lead, but hesitated and failed to get his shot away, missing his chance to net his first Champions League goal.

Having lost control in Paderborn on Saturday, VfB were desperate not to see history repeat itself in Slovakia, but despite their best efforts, they struggled to keep Bratislava at bay; left-back Sandro Cruz hammered Fabian Bredlow's crossbar from the edge of the box as the hosts continued to threaten, keeping Stuttgart under considerable pressure.

Stuttgart managed to regain a foothold in the 65th minute, though not in the manner they might have expected, as Vagnoman swung a ball into the centre of the box and, in a cruel twist of fate, Cruz inadvertently turned it beyond his own goalkeeper to double Stuttgart's lead with an own goal that felt either fortunate or harsh, depending on the allegiance.

Jamie Leweling, Ermedin Demirovic, Atakan Karazor, Lorenz Assignon and Bratislava-born Leo Sauer were all introduced as Stuttgart looked to see out the match, though VfB never quite found the comfort they were after, with the hosts remaining dangerous on the break.

The decisive moment came in the 90th minute, when Assignon whipped in a superb cross to the back post, and Demirovic arrived late to head home, putting the result beyond doubt.

After missing out on Champions League progress two years ago due to dropped points in matches they were expected to win, Stuttgart will know just how valuable these three points are.

It wasn't the prettiest performance for large periods, but Sebastian Hoeneß's side left with a clean sheet for the second time in a week, and found the back of the net three times -   encouraging signs ahead of the coming trip to Hamburg.