Roma
Milan
Atalanta
Liverpool
West Ham
B. Leverkusen
Marsilya
Benfica
Lille
Aston Villa
Fiorentina
Viktoria Plzeň
PAOK
Club Brugge
Fenerbahçe
Olympiakos
Early lead
Stuttgart made the better start to the match and opened the scoring in the 14th minute, Hiroko Ito smashing the ball in off the underside of the crossbar from the edge of the area. That gave Sebastian Hoeneß’ men confidence and they saw out the rest of the first half with concentration and composure to go in at the break with a deserved lead.
Dramatic second half
Shortly after the restart, Josha Vagnoman could have made it 2-0 but he was denied by a good save from Manuel Riemann (51’). The contest then gained momentum as first Kevin Stöger equalised for Bochum (58’), but just 97 seconds later VfB responded when Serhou Guirassy turned in Borna Sosa’s cross to restore the lead (60’). With their tails up, VfB pushed on and increased their advantage in the 63rd minute through Josha Vagnoman, the wing-back heading in Enzo Millot’s delivery.
Stuttgart defended well after that and largely kept Bochum at bay, but the hosts didn’t give up and came back into it late on. Philipp Hofmann reduced the deficit (85’), which made for a tense finale, but VfB held on for a deserved three points and a vital away win.
The goals:
14th minute (0-1): Bochum’s Danilo Soares only clears Sosa’s cross to the edge of the area, from where Ito lashes it underneath the crossbar!
58th minute (1-1): Stöger equalises from a penalty.
60th minute (1-2): Instant reply from VfB! Sosa sends the ball into the six-yard box with the outside of his boot, and Guirassy finishes it off!
63rd minute (1-3): Millot crosses to the far post, where Vagnoman heads in to make it 3-1!
85th minute (2-3): Philipp Förster’s cross is bundled in by Hofmann at the far post.
Reaction:
VfB head coach Sebastian Hoeneß: “That was an important win in many respects – particularly for the table. What’s even more important is that we showed incredible fight. That’s essential for the coming weeks. We’ll take this feeling away. We were very compact for large parts, created openings and were a threat.”
Josha Vagnoman: “We all did brilliantly today – with and without the ball. Bochum didn’t make it easy for us but our plan worked and we scored three goals to boot. I always try to give my best for the team, so I’m even happier today.”
