Stalemate in Stuttgart as RB Leipzig leave their wings at home

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Neither the master Mario Gomez nor the apprentice Timo Werner were able to break the deadlock as VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig shared a goalless draw at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Sunday.

Stuttgart 0-0 Leipzig

In a first-half disrupted by frequent fouls, Erik Thommy fired a free-kick too close to Petar Gulacsi with the hosts' best opportunity before Naby Keita's deflected effort was pushed away by Ron-Robert Zieler at the other end. Former Stuttgart forward Timo Werner, making his 150th Bundesliga appearance, wasted the best chance of the first half in stoppage time, though, when he was put through on goal, but his tentative effort to dink the ball past Zieler saw him fail to make contact with the ball entirely.

Werner was being marshalled well by a Stuttgart central defensive pairing of Benjamin Pavard and Holger Badstuber who were playing together for the first time, and when he did find space to exploit, Zieler was off his line in a flash to reach the ball first. Gomez had barely had a look-in until ten minutes from time when he headed just inches wide with arguably Stuttgart's best chance of the entire game. A frenetic final few minutes failed to find a winner with both sides settling for a goalless draw – Leipzig's first away from home since promotion in 2016.

Watch: Timo Werner - the heir to Mario Gomez's throne.

Match stats

    This was Leipzig's first goalless draw of the season and their first away from home in the Bundesliga.Gomez has scored four of Stuttgart's seven goals under Korkut, but all his efforts have come away from home.Stuttgart have yet to concede a goal at home under Tayfun Korkut.After joining Stuttgart aged six, Werner wrote his name into folklore as the club's youngest ever debutant and goalscorer. He later became the Bundesliga's youngest player to score a brace and reach 50 appearances – all before the age of 19.Now 22, Werner has eclipsed Karl-Heinz Köbel as the youngest Bundesliga player in history to reach 150 Bundesliga outings - reaching the landmark in this game.

Line-ups

Stuttgart: Zieler – Beck, Pavard, Badstuber, Insua – Thommy (Akolo 75'), Gentner (c), Ascacibar (Kaminski 85'), Aogo - Gomez, Ginczek (Mangala 90+1')
Unused subs: Grahl, Donis, Özcan, Bruun Larsen
Absentees: Mane (thigh), Zimmermann (knee ligaments)
Coach: Tayfun Korkut

Leipzig: Gulacsi - Bernardo, Orban, Konate, Klostermann - Demme, Keita - Sabitzer, Lookman (Bruma 46') – Poulsen (Forsberg 64'), Werner (Augustin 77')
Unused subs: Upamecano, Ilsanker, Schimtz, Mvogo
Absentees: Halstenberg (knee)
Coach: Ralph Hasenhüttl

Watch: Werner on his "emotional" homecoming in Stuttgart

As it happened

Click here for the VfB Stuttgart vs. RB Leipzig Match Centre!