Undav the hero as Stuttgart take all three points | OneFootball

In the first of two meetings in four days between the sides, Die Schwaben drew first blood thanks to Deniz Undav’s decisive strike ten minutes from time.

The opening stages unfolded much as expected, with Mainz sitting deep and compact, looking to frustrate the hosts while threatening on the counter through their pace in attack. Stuttgart’s first real chance came when a deflected cross looped into the path of Jamie Leweling, whose close-range header was superbly tipped away by Robin Zentner.

Moments later, Undav forced another fine stop from the Mainz goalkeeper, before Pascal Stenzel flashed a shot wide at the back post - a moment that summed up the hosts’ growing frustration. That frustration deepened five minutes before the interval when Mainz were awarded a penalty after Chema Andrés was harshly penalised for handball. Captain Nadiem Amiri made no mistake from the spot, firing past Alexander Nübel to hand the visitors a surprise lead - and in the process, ending Stuttgart’s run of clean sheets at home in the league this season.

However, just as it looked like Mainz would take that advantage into the break, Stuttgart hit back in style. Chris Führich collected the ball on the left, cut inside past several defenders, and curled a stunning effort beyond Zentner to level the scores on the stroke of half-time - tearing up both managers’ team talks in the process.

Stuttgart carried that momentum into the second half, dominating possession but initially struggling to carve out clear openings as Mainz continued to defend resiliently. Their resistance was finally broken ten minutes from time in bizarre fashion: Nübel launched a hopeful long ball forward that should have been comfortably cleared, but hesitation in the Mainz defence allowed Undav to race through unchallenged. The striker kept his composure, lifting the ball delicately over the advancing Zentner to put Stuttgart in front.

Mainz pushed for an equaliser late on, with substitute Nikolas Veratschnig coming closest as his looping header drifted inches wide of the far post. Despite seven minutes of stoppage time, Bo Henriksen’s side couldn’t find a way back.

For Stuttgart, it marks a fifth consecutive league victory - one that sees them end the weekend in third place ahead of Wednesday’s DFB-Pokal rematch in Mainz. For the visitors, the familiar frustration continues: winless in five league fixtures, despite showing encouraging signs of defensive improvement, they remain 16th in the table.