VFB Stuttgart Season 2022 Match 5

VfB Stuttgart – FC Schalke 04

Date: 3rd September 2022, 3:30 pm

Result: 1 – 1

I'm later than usual with this match report. Usually I try to write something within 24 hours, while the match is still fresh in my mind, but I've waited two days this week. I'll be honest: I didn't feel motivated. I was so disappointed by the match on Saturday. I expected VfB Stuttgart to have an easy victory, because FC Schalke 04 is one of the weakest teams in the Bundesliga, but the match proved that there's no such thing as an easy victory.

The two teams were both hungry for a victory. Neither team has won a game so far this season, though Schalke's record is worse. (Stuttgart has only had one defeat, while Schalke has lost two matches). Both teams began the match aggressively, but Stuttgart drew first blood with a goal by Chris Führich in the 18th minute. The crowd went wild. As far as I was concerned, the game was as good as over. My prediction was a 3:0 or even 4:0 win for VfB Stuttgart.

Not so. Three minutes later FC Schalke equalised with a goal by Simon Terodde, a former VfB player for a single season (2016-2017) in which he scored 25 goals. They must be wishing they hadn't let him go. The rest of the first half was a hard battle, neither team managing to develop scoring chances. Schalke finally had a chance in the 43rd minute, when Simon Terodde hammered the ball at the goal, barely missing. I was in panic.

In the second half I'm sad to say that FC Schalke 04 was the better team. It was a hard fought match with fouls on both sides. In the 58th minute Joshua Vagnoman received his second yellow card and had to leave the pitch. This was a repeat of last week's match. Stuttgart was down to 10 men.

For the rest of the game Stuttgart was under pressure. It looked as if Schalke could score at any moment. Only Florian Müller's expert goalkeeping kept the ball out. In the 89th and 90th minutes there were two close misses, both shots by Schalke's Rodrigo Zalazar. When the final whistle blew, you could see on the faces of the VfB players that they felt relieved not to have lost.

Where does VfB Stuttgart go from here? Five games without a victory is a disheartening start to the season. They desperately need a win, but next week's match is an away game against Bayern München, third place in the league table and still undefeated this season. It'll be a tough challenge.

After today's draw, VfB Stuttgart is still in 12th place in the league table. Usually I say that the top 10 places are good and the top 14 places are safe, but VfB is in a precarious position. One more defeat could push them down into the danger zone.