Chris Führich seals it late as VfB Stuttgart beat spirited Paderborn
VfB Stuttgart ran out 2-0 winners at Paderborn through goals from Jeff Chabot and Chris Führich, with Angelo Stiller teeing up both strikes.
Paderborn 0-1 VfB Stuttgart
Goals: 0-1 Chabot 25’ (assist: Stiller), 0-2 Führich 83’ (assist: Stiller)
Paderborn went into the match unchanged from the side that beat Hoffenheim 3-1 before the international break, their first Bundesliga win in more than six and a half years.
Stuttgart made four changes, with goalkeeper Dennis Seimen earning his starting Bundesliga debut, having spent last season on loan at Paderborn, while Ramon Hendriks, Atakan Karazor and Jamie Leweling also came into the starting XI.
Stuttgart dominant before the break
The visitors set the tone from the start, pressing high and pinning Paderborn back. Deniz Undav forced an early save from Nahuel Noll, before the goalkeeper denied Ermedin Demirović with his head and then produced a fine stop to deny Jamie Leweling, who had gone through one-on-one.
The breakthrough arrived in the 25th minute: Stiller's cross from the left found Chabot, who rose to head in from close range. Leweling then struck the post from a tight angle, before Paderborn finished the half with a flurry of their own, Raphael Obermair denied by Seimen's smart save in the 41st minute.
Paderborn push, Stuttgart finish it off
Führich twice went close early in the second half, both efforts blocked. Paderborn then grew into the game, with Marvin Pieringer heading wide from six yards after a Laurin Curda cross.
The hosts kept pressing but could not find a leveller, and in the 83rd minute Stuttgart settled the contest: Stiller found Führich inside the box, and he danced past his marker and drove a shot in off the underside of the crossbar to put the outcome beyond doubt.
Player of the Match: Chris Führich
Führich scored VfB Stuttgart's decisive second goal in the 83rd minute, firing in off the crossbar after a Stiller pass, and had already tested Paderborn's goalkeeper with efforts earlier in the second half. He also won the most challenges of any player on the pitch (15) and ended up winning the Player of the Match vote with 48 percent of the ballot.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Paderborn 2.63 - Stuttgart 2.44
Fastest player: Josha Vagnoman (Stuttgart), 34.93 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 0-2 by Chris Führich (Stuttgart), 7 percent
Pass efficiency: Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), +4.68
Fantasy Heroes: Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart, 332 points), Chris Führich (VfB Stuttgart, 325 points), Maximilian Mittelstädt (VfB Stuttgart, 248 points)
