2. Bundesliga
Holders Stuttgart trump Bochum
VfB Stuttgart bounced back from their league defeat against Hamburg in perfect fashion, as they beat Bundesliga 2 side Bochum 2-0 in the DFB Cup round of 16.
Bochum 0-2 VfB Stuttgart
Goals: 0-1 Strompf 12‘ (o.g.), 0-2 Undav 47‘ (assist: Leweling)
Red card: Strompf 45
Stuttgart dominated possession in the first half and then took a deserved lead, with Philipp Strompf’s own goal a reward for their early persistence. Bochum responded well though, with Farid Alfa-Ruprecht and Kjell Wätjen stretching the Swabians’ backline on a few occasions. The hosts couldn’t convert their attacks into a goal however, and then went down to 10 men after Strompf brought down Deniz Undav as the last man on the brink of half-time.
Sebastian Hoeneß’s men made the perfect start to the second half, with Undav flicking home a header from a Jamie Leweling cross just a minute after the delayed re-start. A man down and now two behind, Bochum couldn’t offer the same competitive edge they showed in the first half, and Stuttgart were barely tested in the second 45.
As it happened!
0 - 2(0 - 1)
Bochum
FINAL
Stuttgart
90' +1
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Three added minutes
The finish line is in sight for both sides now.
89'
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Leonidas Stergiou
Finn Jeltsch
87'
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Headed for victory
Only a few minutes remain of normal time, and Stuttgart don't look like they'll be letting their comfortable lead slip.
82'
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Nartey fires over
A bit of space opens up ahead of him just outside the box, but he can't find the target with his effort.
78'
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Bochum defending well
The ten men of Bochum are managing to keep their opponents in front of them for now, with Stuttgart losing some momentum through their substitutions.
76'
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Chema Andrés
Angelo Stiller
76'
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Badredine Bouanani
Jamie Leweling
76'
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Philipp Hofmann
Kjell Wätjen
72'
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Cruise control
Stuttgart aren't moving the ball with great intensity, nevertheless, Bochum are struggling to get a foothold in this half.
61'
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Nikolas Nartey
Ramon Hendriks
66'
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Stiller can't find a white shirt
His run deep into the Bochum box is found and he crosses back into the centre of the area from the byline, but there aren't enough teammates in the box.
62'
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Fresh legs
Bochum continue to make changes in an effort to pull themselves back into the game despite their man disadvantage.
61'
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Chris Führich
Bilal El Khannouss
61'
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Kacper Koscierski
Farid Alfa-Ruprecht
61'
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Felix Passlack
Leandro Morgalla
56'
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Too cute
El Khannouss finds himself with space on the edge of the area but instead of shooting he tries to slide Undav in, but only finds a Bochum shirt with his attempted pass.
53'
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Probing for a third
That quick goal has only increased Stuttgart's confidence, and they've had Bochum pinned deep in their own half since the goal.
46'
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The action resumes!
We're finally back underway here in Bochum.
46'
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Kick-off delayed
We're still waiting for the whistle to blow, with smoke from the stands spilling onto the pitch.
46'
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Moritz-Broni Kwarteng
Francis Onyeka
46'
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Erhan Mašović
Cajetan Lenz
0 - 0
Kick-off!
0 - 0
Half-time
45'
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Strompf dismissed!
After review, Strompf's yellow card is upgraded due to him being the last man back and denying a goalscoring opportunity.
44'
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Under review
Strompf's poor challenge on Undav is under review, with the Bochum defender being the furthest man back at the time of the tackle.
45'
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Philipp Strompf
43'
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Wittek blazes over
Driving toward goal in a central position, the Bochum man chooses to go alone instead on slipping in a teammate and fires his shot well over the bar.
39'
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Caught in two minds
Leweling gets in behind the Bochum defence and has a clear sight of goal, but tries to cross it instead of shooting and only finds a Bochum shirt.
36'
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Missed opportunity
Jeltsch slips on the ball and Onyeka sets Wätjen away on the counter. He drives into the box but his touch takes him slightly too wide, and his tame finish rolls straight into the arms of Bredlow.
32'
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Great cross
Wätjen delivers a dangerous low cross just in front of the six-yard box, but neither Onyeka nor Alfa-Ruprecht can knock it home.
28'
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Tough to break down
Stuttgart are dominating the passing statistics, but are struggling to find space in the final third.
20'
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Big chance for Alfa-Ruprecht!
A long ball over the top catches the Stuttgart defence off guard, and sees Alfa-Ruprecht racing toward goal with little competition. Bredlow races out toward the ball, making the youngster rush his finish, and his lobbed attempt consequently misses the target.
17'
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Good tempo
That goal has lifted Stuttgart, but equally encouraged Bochum to keep testing the visitors' backline.
12'
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Philipp Strompf
OWNGOAL!
0:111'
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Hosts coming alive
That Wätjen chance appears to have given Bochum real belief. They've broken at speed a couple of times since, but to little effect.
7'
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Wätjen tests Stuttgart
He breaks down the left before cutting inside Assignon and firing toward the near post, where Chabot bravely heads clear.
6'
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Visitors in control
Bochum haven't seen much of the ball in these opening exchanges, but so far they're keeping Stuttgart at bay.
3'
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Ambitious Undav
The in-form forward tries to lob Horn from the edge of the area, but gets too much on it and sees it float over the goal.
1'
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Off we go!
Bochum get today's action underway.
0 - 0
Kick-off!
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More on those teams
Stuttgart make a number of changes from their recent loss to Hamburg in the league, the most notable of which being Nübel dropping to the bench. The likes of Undav, Leweling and Stiller all return to the starting XI. For Bochum, Hofmann, Holtmann and Miyoshi, who all started their recent win over Fürth, are replaced by Alfa-Ruprecht, Pannewig and Wätjen.
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Bochum starting line-up
Horn (c) - Morgalla, Loosli, Strompf, Wittek - Lenz, Sissoko - Alfa-Ruprecht, Wätjen, Pannewig - Onyeka
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Bochum subs
Thiede, Rösch, Sissoko, Obafemi, Passlack, Kwarteng, Mašović, Hofmann, Koscierski
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Stuttgart starting line-up
Bredlow - Jeltsch, Chabot, Hendriks - Assignon, Karazor (c), Stiller, Mittelstädt - El Khannouss, Leweling - Undav
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Stuttgart subs
Nübel, Al-Dakhil, Vagnoman, Tomás, Führich, Stergiou, Bouanani, Nartey, Chema
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Bochum with cup edge?
While Stuttgart had have the better of their historical match-ups with Bochum on the whole, it was the hosts who won the last DFB Cup meeting between the two. They beat the Swabians 2-0 in the first round back in 2015, with Simon Terodde bagging a brace.
135s
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Watch: Greuther Fürth 0-3 Bochum
Bochum put three important points between them and second-bottom Greuther at the weekend with an impressive performance ahead of the visit of VfB.