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DPA
Berlin
VfB Stuttgart cruised 4-1 away to Augsburg on Sunday to leapfrog their hosts into 10th place in the Bundesliga while their fellow promoted side Arminia Bielefeld left the bottom three with a 1-0 home win over Hertha Berlin.
A slick performance from Stuttgart began with Nicolas Gonzalez’s penalty and their lead was doubled by Silas Wamangituka.
Augsburg’s Marco Richter cut the deficit 30 seconds after the restart but Stuttgart captain Gonzalo Castro restored the two-goal advantage, after a video review, and Richter’s late dismissal ended Augsburg’s hopes.
Daniel Didavi then completed the rout by adding a late fourth.
Stuttgart are four points off sixth, the final automatic European spot, with Augsburg two worse off a place below them.
Hertha are 12th and just five points above the relegation play-off place now occupied by Cologne. Reinhold Yabo grabbed the only goal to lift Bielefeld up a place to 15th and outright safety.
League leaders Bayern Munich and second-placed RB Leipzig both suffered defeats this weekend, 3-2 at Borussia Moenchengladbach and 3-1 at home to Borussia Dortmund respectively.
Stuttgart have the best away form in the Bundesliga over the season and needed only six minutes to open the scoring when Reece Oxford clipped Mateo Klimowicz in the box.
Gonzalez stroke home the spot-kick and when Wamangituka from Borna Sosa pass made it two in the 29th there would only be one winner.
“I was very happy that we didn’t need long to settle ourselves again after Augsburg scored,” said Stuttgart coach Pellegrino Matarazzo.
“Overall, it was a good display from us. I’m happy that we were able to win again.” Castro, initially flagged offside, slotted in Stuttgart’s third just after the hour and Didavi converted Waldemar Anton’s cross at the back post three minutes from time.
By that point Richter had been booked in the 73rd and 76th minutes to see reds, ruining the good work he did in netting in Augsburg’s first attack of the second half.
“We have again missed out on attaching ourselves to the upper group, that would have been a very, very important win,” Augsburg’s Daniel Caligiuri told Sky television, who also complained about the award of the penalty.
“From my point of view it was way too little,” he said of the contact in the box. “A wrong decision in my eyes.” Only a superb save by Gregor Kobel, touching Caligiuri’s free kick onto the bar, prevented Augsburg levelling at 1-1 but from that point on Stuttgart were in complete control.
Hertha had the better of the early stages in Bielefeld but the hosts turned the tide before the break and had a penalty revoked after video review showed Niklas Stark was blameless in sending Fabian Klos to the deck.
The video consultation took more than four minutes to resolve the issue.
“I can’t get out of the way,” said Hertha captain Stark. “I’m biased but I was going sideways and he ran into me.” Sergio Cordova fired just wide but Hertha did not heed the warning and Bielefeld went in front when Yabo turned Peter Pekarik and drove into the top corner while Jessic Ngankam was off injured for the visitors.
“I’m just really happy we could decide this game in our favour,” said Yabo after his first Bundesliga goal, and added the team had been “rewarded for a good performance over 90 minutes.” A superb shot from Ritsu Doan hit the inside of the post for Bielefeld but they held on, aided by a handball decision ruling out an equalizer for Hertha’s Krzysztof Piatek.
“It was an equal game,” said Stark. “We were a tick not so sharp as Bielefeld.
Berlin
VfB Stuttgart cruised 4-1 away to Augsburg on Sunday to leapfrog their hosts into 10th place in the Bundesliga while their fellow promoted side Arminia Bielefeld left the bottom three with a 1-0 home win over Hertha Berlin.
A slick performance from Stuttgart began with Nicolas Gonzalez’s penalty and their lead was doubled by Silas Wamangituka.
Augsburg’s Marco Richter cut the deficit 30 seconds after the restart but Stuttgart captain Gonzalo Castro restored the two-goal advantage, after a video review, and Richter’s late dismissal ended Augsburg’s hopes.
Daniel Didavi then completed the rout by adding a late fourth.
Stuttgart are four points off sixth, the final automatic European spot, with Augsburg two worse off a place below them.
Hertha are 12th and just five points above the relegation play-off place now occupied by Cologne. Reinhold Yabo grabbed the only goal to lift Bielefeld up a place to 15th and outright safety.
League leaders Bayern Munich and second-placed RB Leipzig both suffered defeats this weekend, 3-2 at Borussia Moenchengladbach and 3-1 at home to Borussia Dortmund respectively.
Stuttgart have the best away form in the Bundesliga over the season and needed only six minutes to open the scoring when Reece Oxford clipped Mateo Klimowicz in the box.
Gonzalez stroke home the spot-kick and when Wamangituka from Borna Sosa pass made it two in the 29th there would only be one winner.
“I was very happy that we didn’t need long to settle ourselves again after Augsburg scored,” said Stuttgart coach Pellegrino Matarazzo.
“Overall, it was a good display from us. I’m happy that we were able to win again.” Castro, initially flagged offside, slotted in Stuttgart’s third just after the hour and Didavi converted Waldemar Anton’s cross at the back post three minutes from time.
By that point Richter had been booked in the 73rd and 76th minutes to see reds, ruining the good work he did in netting in Augsburg’s first attack of the second half.
“We have again missed out on attaching ourselves to the upper group, that would have been a very, very important win,” Augsburg’s Daniel Caligiuri told Sky television, who also complained about the award of the penalty.
“From my point of view it was way too little,” he said of the contact in the box. “A wrong decision in my eyes.” Only a superb save by Gregor Kobel, touching Caligiuri’s free kick onto the bar, prevented Augsburg levelling at 1-1 but from that point on Stuttgart were in complete control.
Hertha had the better of the early stages in Bielefeld but the hosts turned the tide before the break and had a penalty revoked after video review showed Niklas Stark was blameless in sending Fabian Klos to the deck.
The video consultation took more than four minutes to resolve the issue.
“I can’t get out of the way,” said Hertha captain Stark. “I’m biased but I was going sideways and he ran into me.” Sergio Cordova fired just wide but Hertha did not heed the warning and Bielefeld went in front when Yabo turned Peter Pekarik and drove into the top corner while Jessic Ngankam was off injured for the visitors.
“I’m just really happy we could decide this game in our favour,” said Yabo after his first Bundesliga goal, and added the team had been “rewarded for a good performance over 90 minutes.” A superb shot from Ritsu Doan hit the inside of the post for Bielefeld but they held on, aided by a handball decision ruling out an equalizer for Hertha’s Krzysztof Piatek.
“It was an equal game,” said Stark. “We were a tick not so sharp as Bielefeld.
