VfB Stuttgart took a big leap towards Champions League qualification as they saw off Borussia Dortmund with a 1-0 win, crashing the 50th birthday party of the Signal Iduna Park.
The first half was an even affair with neither side having a true clear chance at goal. Both Gregor Köbel and Alexander Nübel were called into action at times but nothing came from it. What is clear is that Dortmund had begun to adopt the same style of play that was so successful against Bayern Munich last weekend, this style of play has increasingly become Edin Terzic’s signature style.
Stuttgart begun to grow into the game in the second half and start to show the quality they had shown the majority of this season. Stuttgart would then open the scoring in the 64th minute from who else but Sehrou Guirassy who scored his 24th goal of the season. This opened the game up and caused Dortmund to attack more. Die Schwarzgelben had their fair share of chances but were never able to convert them including a glaring miss from Nico Schlotterbeck who missed what was practically a wide open goal.
The win for Stuttgart not only opens the game between them and fourth place but it also means that they go level on points with Bayern Munich after their 3-2 loss against Heidenheim earlier in the day. This season is already impressive for Stuttgart finishing in the Champions League spots, but being able to finish above Bayern would add an extra layer to it.
For Dortmund, the loss means RB Leipzig overtake them into fourth place and they must hope that Leipzig drop points from now until the end of the season. Dortmund must now turn their attention to their Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Borussia Dortmund XI:
Gregor Kobel (6), Julian Ryerson (5), Mats Hummels (5), Nico Schlotterbeck (5), Ian Maatsen (5), Marcel Sabitzer (5), Emre Can (5), Jadon Sancho (6), Julian Brandt (6), Karim Adeyemi (6), Niclas Füllkrug (5)
Others: Felix Nmecha (5), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (5), Sebastien Haller (-), Marco Reus (-), Youssoufa Moukoko (-)
VfB Stuttgart XI:
Alexander Nübel (7), Josha Vagnoman (6), Atakan Karazor (6), Hiroki Ito (6), Maximilian Mittelstädt (5), Enzo Millot (5), Angelo Stiller (5), Jamie Leweling (6), Chris Führich (6), Sehrou Guirassy (7), Deniz Undav (6)
Others: Leonidas Stergiou (5), Woo-Yeong Jeong (5), Silas (-), Mahmoud Dahoud (-), Pascal Stenzel (-)
GGFN | Jack Meenan