DSC Arminia Bielefeld played host to VfB Stuttgart in a mid-week Bundesliga fixture at the SchücoArena in Bielefeld on Wednesday evening. The two newly promoted sides had to cope with the absence of various key players due to injuries and suspensions.

But Bielefeld’s head coach Uwe Neuhaus was well aware of Stuttgart’s qualities and their impressive performances in the ongoing 2020-21 season. “They are playing an outstanding Bundesliga season. They are good on the ball, they play a compact system and they have many players who are capable to win an one-on-one. They are not just waiting for counterattacks, but instead manage to build immediate pressure,” said Neuhaus during the virtual pre-match press conference. “They lure the opponent with the aim to create space and to utilize their pace. We need to act strongly in defense to deny them any space.”

Stuttgart’s head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo was expecting a “tough challenge” against last season’s Bundesliga 2 champions. Talking at the pre-match press conference, the American said: “I think both teams are exceeding expectations. Bielefeld are uncomfortable opponents who have a controlled style of play and have picked up points on a regular basis recently. It’s going to be a tough challenge for us.”

Stuttgart took control of the game right from kick-off and enjoyed great possession. The visitors could have taken the lead in the 16th minute, when Borna Sosa delivered a perfect ball into the box to find Saša Kalajdžič. Kalajdžič turned around his opponent to attempt a shot on target. But Bielefeld goalkeeper Stefan Ortega Moreno displayed a perfect positioning to deny the visitors a goal.

Stuttgart continued to push forward, but it was Bielefeld skipper Fabian Klos who opened the score sheet at the other end. Klos slided into a cross from the left side to hit the target and beat VfB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

The home side almost increased their lead three minutes later, when Sergio Córdova missed the target by a whisker.

Bielefeld took the narrow lead into the half-time break after an effective and clinical first half.

The second half kicked off with another goal for Uwe Neuhaus’ team. Japan international Ritsu Doan delivered a sharp cross into the box which took a deflection of Stuttgart captain Marc Oliver Kempf to find its way into the back of the net.

Bielefeld slowly took control of the game, while Stuttgart looked tired. But Matarazzo’s side managed to create two more scoring opportunities. Roberto Massimo’s attempt (70′) went wide, while Ortega Moreno pulled off a sensational save in the 72nd minute.

Bielefeld kept calm and continued to execute their game plan and sealed their win in the 85th minute, when Doan found the back of the net to rewarded himself for a great individual performance.

DSC Arminia Bielefeld 3-0 VfB Stuttgart

Goals
1-0 Fabian Klos (27′), 2-0 Marc Oliver Kempf (47′, og), 3-0 Ritsu Doan (85′)

Line-up

DSC Arminia Bielefeld
Ortega – Brunner, Pieper, Nilsson, Laursen – Kunze – Doan (89′ Soukou), Hartel (89′ van der Hoorn), Yabo (62′ Gebauer) – Klos [C] (81′ Seufert), Córdova (62′ Schipplock)

VfL Stuttgart
Kobel – Stenzel (57′ Klement), Anton, Kempf [C] – Coulibaly (57′ Massimo), Mangala, Endo, Sosa (64′ Churlinov) – Förster (64′ Didavi), Klimowicz – Kalajdžič

Bookings

Yellow Card
Yabo (DSC Arminia Bielefeld)

Match Officials

Referee
Robert Hartmann

Assistant Referees
Christof Günsch, Markus Schüller

Fourth Offical
Sven Jablonski

Video Assistant Referee
Christian Dingert

Assistant Video Assistant Referee
Frederick Assmuth