Player Ratings | VfB Stuttgart 1-0 RB Leipzig — Deniz Undav’s lone strike helps Sebastian Hoeneß’ men go level on points with Hoffenheim | OneFootball

Deniz Undav’s second-half strike makes the difference as VfB Stuttgart cement their top-four hopes. 

The first half ended with the teams creating chances at both ends but failing to capitalise on them. Christoph Baumgartner came close in the 33rd minute, but he skied his right-footed shot from inside the box. A massive chance fell in the way of Sebastian Hoeneß’ men soon, and this time, Ermedin Demirović missed his header from a dangerous cross by Chris Führich. 

Undav scored his 16th goal of the campaign to break the deadlock and sent the home fans into a frenzy in the 56th minute with his swift shot from close range, beating Maarten Vandevoordt, thanks to an assist from Führich. This goal helped the 29-year-old surpass Luis Díaz in the Bundesliga top scorers chart, to move up to second place, but he is still a staggering 14 goals away from Harry Kane, who has virtually won the Gerd Müller award.

Willi Orbán rose the highest and almost equalised in added time as Die Schwaben were saved by the frame of the post as they kept their one-goal lead. The final chance of the game fell to Undav, as his sprint from the left side of the pitch was unchecked. He came close to sealing his 17th of the season, but his attempted curler was kept out by the Leipzig goalie. 

The three points from the match mark a rebound in results for Hoeneß’ men as they narrowly fell to Porto in the opening leg of the Europa League Round of 16 tie at home in their previous outing. 

Stuttgart 1-0 RB Leipzig | Player Ratings

Stuttgart:

Nübel (8), Hendriks (7), Jaquez (7), Jeltsch (7), Führich (7), Stiller (8), Karazor (6), Leweling (6), El Khannouss (7), Undav (9), Demirović (6).

Others: Mittelstädt (7), Nartey (6), Tomás (6), Assignon (-), Andres (-)

Leipzig:

Vandevoordt (5), Raum (7), Lukeba (6), Orbán (8), Baku (5), Baumgartner (6), Seiwald (6), Banzuzi (5), Nusa (5), Rômulo (5), Diomande (6).

Others: Gruda (6), Schlager (6), Harder (5), Bakayoko (6), Henrichs (-).

GGFN Man of the Match | Deniz Undav (9)

The German forward will be kicking himself for not netting the second goal of the match in the end, but he managed to win the maximum points for his side in a match that could have gone either way. Undav was a live wire throughout as he terrorised the Die Roten Bullen defence on numerous occasions. While he missed three big chances, he made it up with his work rate in the final third of the pitch, dropping down to help his teammates to aid in ball progression (FotMob)

GGFN | Trambak Bhattacherjee