Maximilian Mittelstädt on target as VfB Stuttgart end Werder Bremen’s unbeaten run
Maximilian Mittelstädt’s seventh-minute strike helped VfB Stuttgart secure a narrow 1-0 victory over in-form Werder Bremen, whose seven-match unbeaten Bundesliga run came to an end at the MHP-Arena.
Stuttgart 1-0 Werder Bremen
Goals: 1-0 Mittelstädt 7’ (assist: Prömel)
Stuttgart made three changes from their UEFA Champions League defeat at Galatasaray, with Dennis Seimen and Luca Jaquez restored to the starting eleven, while Yanik Spalt was handed his full Bundesliga debut.
Bremen head coach Daniel Thioune made two alterations of his own, bringing in Eren Dinkçi and Senne Lynen for Chuki and the injured Mitchell Weiser.
The Green-Whites arrived unbeaten in seven league games, while the hosts were seeking back-to-back Bundesliga wins for the first time this season.
Mittelstädt strikes early
Stuttgart started brightly and broke the deadlock in the seventh minute when Grischa Prömel found space on the right of the box before sliding a low pass into the centre, where Mittelstädt arrived unmarked at the far post and finished first time into the roof of the net.
The hosts continued to look the more dangerous side, with Bilal El Khannouss forcing a smart save from Karl Hein and Jeff Chabot heading narrowly wide from a corner, as Stuttgart went in 1-0 up at the break.
Bremen press for an equaliser
Dinkçi forced a save from Seimen before Youri Regeer, played through by Niclas Füllkrug, was denied one-on-one by the Stuttgart goalkeeper shortly after the restart.
Stuttgart almost doubled their lead when Mittelstädt's effort from a training-ground corner routine was turned onto the post by Hein.
Bremen kept pushing through substitutes Justin Njinmah and Chuki, with Finn Jeltsch producing a crucial block to deny the former, but Stuttgart held firm through to the final whistle to seal a narrow 1-0 victory and claim successive Bundesliga wins for the first time this season, halting Bremen's unbeaten run.
Man of the Match: Maximilian Mittelstädt
Maximilian Mittelstädt scored the only goal of the game with a first-time finish into the roof of the net in the seventh minute, and later in the match struck the post with another effort from inside the box.
He was voted Man of the Match with 59 percent of the vote.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Stuttgart 0.78 - Werder Bremen 1.68
Fastest player: Eren Dinkçi (Werder Bremen), 34.4 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 1-0 by Maximilian Mittelstädt (Stuttgart), 11 percent
Pass efficiency: Karl Hein (Werder Bremen), 5.78
Fantasy Heroes: Maximilian Mittelstädt (Stuttgart, 395 Points), Niclas Füllkrug (Werder Bremen, 190 Points), Dennis Seimen (Stuttgart, 228 Points)
