VfB Stuttgart 1-5 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Sebastian Hoeneß’ charges struggled to get into the game initially, and although they did produce some good moves they lacked precision and a cutting edge in the final third. A lapse in concentration at the back allowed Gladbach’s Nathan Ngoumou to open the scoring (10’), with Tomas Cvancara doubling their lead four minutes later.
VfB were much better at the start of the second half and Silas reduced the deficit after a neat one-two with Serhou Guirassy. However, another goal from Ngoumou and two more from Cvancara gave the Foals a 5-1 victory.
VfB head coach Sebastian Hoeneß: “In terms of our playing style, the match against Gladbach was absolutely fine. We frequently got into the final third but we lacked the required accuracy to finish off promising situations. There are still too many simple mistakes in our build-up play. We did a poor job of guarding against their counter-attacks throughout the match, that’s an area where we need to make a big improvement.”
VfB Stuttgart 2-0 TSV 1860 München
As had been previously planned, Hoeneß changed his team completely for the second game and sent out 11 new players to face 1860 Munich.
Jovan Milosevic (9’) and Genki Haraguchi (26’) got the goals in a deserved 2-0 triumph for VfB.
Hoeneß: “I thought we were very good in the first half. We kept the intensity high and we scored two really good goals. We were aggressive and won the second balls. We completely dominated the game at that stage. I wasn’t as pleased with the second half because the tempo dropped off and we didn’t get behind their defence. Overall, it was a decent game.”
VfB line-up vs.Borussia Mönchengladbach:
33 Nübel – 3 Endo (C), 8 Millot, 9 Guirassy, 10 Jeong, 14 Silas, 15 Stenzel, 23 Zagadou, 24 Sosa, 35 Mola, 44 Sankoh (44′ Pfeiffer)
VfB line-up vs. 1860 Munich:
41 Seimen – 2 Anton (C), 16 Karazor, 17 Haraguchi, 18 Leweling, 19 Milosevic (48′ Perea), 21 Ito, 25 Egloff, 27 Führich, 32 Massimo (54′ Raimund), 36 Ulrich (Barth)