By Martin Maibücher
On Matchday 4 of the Europa League, VfB Stuttgart defeated Feyenoord Rotterdam, celebrating their second victory in the group stage.
VfB Stuttgart defeated Feyenoord Rotterdam with two goals in the final minutes of the match on Thursday night (November 6). While the Dutch side had more scoring opportunities for much of the game, VfB sealed the victory in the closing minutes, securing a 2-0 home win thanks to goals from Bilal El Khannouss (84th minute) and Deniz Undav (90+1 minute).
Feyenoord showed greater attacking intent in the first half. The first surprise in Stuttgart came minutes before kickoff: Luca Jaquez was ruled out at the last minute due to an adductor injury, so Josha Vagnoman took his place in the starting eleven. Vagnoman was directly involved in one of Stuttgart’s first scoring opportunities, passing the ball to Deniz Undav, whose shot, however, sailed well over the crossbar (12th minute).
Feyenoord had the best chance of the first quarter of an hour. Anis Hadj Moussa dribbled into the box on the right, beat Maximilian Mittelstädt, and saw his shot saved by VfB goalkeeper Alexander Nübel (14th minute).
Consequently, the Dutch side pressed the VfB goal more, but their crosses from the wings rarely found their target, and some attacks were overly elaborate. VfB lacked precision in attack; too many balls in the final third of the pitch ended up at the feet of the opposition. The situation worsened in first-half stoppage time.
Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther played a masterful 70-meter pass to Hadj Moussa, who was brought down by Mittelstädt just outside the penalty area. Referee Horatiu Fesnic showed the VfB defender a yellow card instead of a red, as Finn Jeltsch could have intervened at the same point.
Hadj Moussa then fired the resulting free kick into the Stuttgart wall, and the teams went into halftime with the score at 0-0. Wellenreuther made some spectacular saves. After the break, the pattern remained the same: Feyenoord dominated possession and attacked with greater boldness, but the Stuttgart defense thwarted their attempts time and again.
VfB Stuttgart looked for a goal through quick counter-attacks and won a free kick in the 56th minute after Deniz Undav was brought down by Givairo Read as he attempted to score. Again, another Feyenoord player was nearby, and again the foul resulted in a yellow card instead of a red. The free kick eventually fell to Bilal El Khannouss, whose right-footed shot forced Timon Wellenreuther into action.
The standout player on the pitch continued to be Anis Hadj Moussa. In the 62nd minute, he crossed for Ayase Ueda, whose header grazed the right post of the VfB goal. VfB fans almost celebrated in the 69th minute when Undav, after a superb through ball from El Khannouss, found himself one-on-one with former KSC goalkeeper Wellenreuther, but he failed to beat him.
After Wellenreuther’s save, Undav crossed the rebound to Jamie Leweling, whose close-range header went wide. VfB gradually worked their way into the game. El Khannouss and Undav spurred on VfB. In Stuttgart, everything pointed to a draw, but then came the 84th minute: Lorenz Assignon delivered a perfect cross from the right wing for El Khannouss to powerfully head the ball under the crossbar and into the back of the net. The 1-0 lead in front of the Curva de Cannstatt sparked euphoria in the stadium; the cheers must have been heard for miles around.
