BUNDESLIGA PLAYER RATINGS | VfB Stuttgart 0-2 Borussia Dortmund – Dortmund with a smash-and-grab thanks to two late goals from Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi | OneFootball

Following the Bundesliga’s return from the international break, VfB Stuttgart looked to keep their hopes up of Champions League qualification against Borussia Dortmund.

As you would come to expect, the first 45 minutes were predominantly Stuttgart dominanted. The hosts averaged 72% possession, and the majority of the game was spent in Dortmund’s half. The main issue for Sebastian Hoeneß’s side was their clinicality in front of goal; in the first half, they only managed eight shots, with just two of them being on target. 

Whereas for Dortmund, they were pretty much non-existent in attack, with their only shot on target being a Waldemar Anton header, which VfB keeper Alexander Nübel was able to comfortably catch. 

The second half was more or less the same as the first, with Dortmund not really turning up and seemingly not trying to play football either, but at the end of the game, it worked.

Despite only having three shots on target in the whole game, Niko Kovac’s side were able to convert two of them in the dying moments of the game. In the 94th minute, Karim Adeyemi opened the scoring against the run of play, before Julian Brandt made it 2-0 two minutes later when Fabio Silva countered as Stuttgart pushed for an equaliser. The Portuguese then crossed in, and Brandt volleyed home. 

Was it deserved? No, far from it, but it is the definition of smash-and-grab, and it has meant that Dortmund now have a comfortable buffer over Stuttgart when it comes to securing second place.  

VfB Stuttgart:

Alexander Nübel (5), Finn Jeltsch (5), Jeff Chabot (5), Ramon Hendriks (5), Lorenz Assignon (6), Atakan Karazor (5), Angelo Stiller (7), Maximilian Mittelstädt (6), Nikolas Nartey (6), Chris Führich (6), Deniz Undav (5)

Others: Jamie Leweling (5), Bilal El Khannouss (5), Tiago Tomas (5), Chema Andres (-), Ermedin Demirovic (-)

Borussia Dortmund:

Gregor Kobel (6), Waldemar Anton (5), Nico Schlotterbeck (5), Ramy Bensebaini (5), Julian Ryerson (5), Marcel Sabitzer (5), Jobe Bellingham (5), Daniel Svensson (5), Maximilian Beier (5), Carney Chukwuemeka (5), Serhou Guirassy (4) 

Others: Karim Adeyemi (6), Fabio Silva (5), Julian Brandt (6)

GGFN Man of the Match: Angelo Stiller (7)

The pickings for man-of-the-match in this game are slim, very slim. However, in the first half, Stiller was one of the many threats to Dortmund and was well in control. Via FotMob, the birthday boy created two chances, had 16 passes into the final third and won 71% of his duels. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan