Sebastian Hoeneß’s side dominated the early stages but Deniz Undav failed to make the most of two early opportunities to give VfB the lead (5’, 10’). There was little to choose between the teams after that, with both sides showing plenty of effort but creating little in the final third. Ultimately, however, Matus Bero’s second-half effort proved decisive.
Undav goes close
Undav was heavily involved in the early stages but the VfB striker was thwarted by goalkeeper Manuel Riemann early on before heading a Jamie Leweling cross straight into the arms of the Bochum custodian five minutes later. Chances were few and far between after that as the deadlock remained unbroken at half-time.
Bochum breakthrough, Stuttgart fire blank
The hosts capitalised on a misplaced pass to take the lead through Bero five minutes into the second half. Leweling fired narrowly wide shortly before the hour mark (58’) and Angelo Stiller failed to convert from close range (61’), before Waldemar Anton spurned another good opportunity with five minutes remaining. Those misses proved costly as Bochum held on to claim all three points.
Goals
50th minute: Daxo Zagadou gives the ball away and Bochum take full advantage, as Bero beats Zagadou for pace before firing past Alex Nübel for the game’s only goal.
Other notable events
The game was delayed for several minutes after half-time, with the match organisers and security officials confirming that one of the security gates was inaccessible due to a banner unfurled by the VfB supporters. The game restarted following a brief inspection.