Stuttgart sealed their place in a second successive DFB Pokal Final on Thursday evening after eventually overcoming Baden-Württemberg rivals Freiburg in a pulsating game at the MHP Arena.
Sebastian Hoeneß made four changes to his lineup that succumbed to a 4-2 defeat at Bayern Munich at the weekend, restoring regular starters Deniz Undav, Ermedin Demirović, Maximilian Mittelstädt, and Nikolas Nartey, in place of Bilal El Khannouss, Tiago Tomás, Josha Vagnoman, and Finn Jeltsch.
Beaten finalists in 2022, Freiburg also restored many of their regular starters following their victory over Heidenheim at the weekend. Notably, Florian Müller kept his place in Die Breisgauer's Pokal lineup ahead of Noah Atubolu.
After a fiery start to the game in which referee Tobias Welz dished out four yellow cards in the opening 18 minutes, Freiburg felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Maximilian Eggestein broke through and appeared to be tripped by his marker. The 29-year-old stayed on his feet, though, and managed to get a shot away, much to his own detriment.
Eggestein soon found redemption, giving his side the lead with an instinctive finish. Matthias Ginter headed towards the goal from a Vincenzo Grifo corner, and with Eggestein left unmarked, he flicked the ball past Alexander Nübel with ease.
Stuttgart finally began to assert themselves towards the closing stages of a first half largely dominated by Julian Schüster's men, but squandered three good chances before the half-time whistle. Ermedin Demirović, Jamie Leweling and Deniz Undav all failed to convert their efforts.
The hosts began the second half as they finished the first and created another chance to equalise following a quick break down the right. Leweling drilled the ball across the box to Chris Führich, who was slightly outstretched and therefore unable to get a strong enough touch to send the ball goalward.
They continued to push and, on the hour mark, forced Florian Müller into his first save of the evening, denying Angelo Stiller on the goal line. The German midfielder did have the ball in the net a minute later, though, with a superb finish from outside the box. The celebrations were cut short, however, as Demirović had strayed just offside during the build-up.
With the hosts pushing for an equaliser, Freiburg sensed their opponents' vulnerability at the back and should have doubled their lead. Igor Matanović saw his effort blocked, with the rebound falling to Yuito Suzuki, who fired straight at Nübel. Stuttgart broke immediately through substitute Bilal El Khannouss; the Moroccan picked out Deniz Undav, and the former Brighton forward made no mistake, burying it into the far corner.
Undav very nearly then put his side ahead through a remarkable stroke of luck; his cross towards Demirović was deflected by Lienhart and had his goalkeeper beaten all ends up, with the frame of the goal coming to Stuttgart's rescue.
With the end-to-end nature of the game showing no signs of slowing down heading into stoppage time, Müller kept the tie alive with two excellent saves from Führich and Undav, forcing extra time.
There was a moment of controversy at the beginning of the extra 30 minutes as Lucas Höler had the ball in the net for Freiburg following a quickly taken free kick, the referee, however, ruled out the goal for a foul on Jeff Chabot in the build-up.
Führich then failed to convert a golden opportunity after being played through one-on-one with Müller, the winger's effort striking the frame of the goal. El Khannouss thought he had put his side in front for the first time on the night and, were it not for Müller pulling off a world-class save, he would have done so.
With legs tiring in the second period of extra time, chances were few and far between, until the 119th minute when substitute Tiago Tomás won the game for Stuttgart with an exquisite backheel. Cue an explosion of noise at the MHP Arena.
After a pulsating 120 minutes in Stuttgart, it ends in heartbreak for Freiburg but ecstasy for Stuttgart, who will face Bayern Munich in Berlin on the 23rd of May for a shot at becoming the 9th team to win the DFB Pokal in back-to-back seasons .
Alexander Nübel (6) – Ramon Hendriks (6), Jeff Chabot (8), Maximilian Mittelstädt (6) – Jamie Leweling (7), Atakan Karazor (6), Angelo Stiller (8), Chris Führich (6) – Deniz Undav (8), Nikolas Nartey (6) – Ermedin Demirović (5)
Others: Bilal El Khannouss (7), Tiago Tomás (7), Luca Jaquez (-), Josha Vagnoman (-), Badredine Bouanani (-)
Florian Müller (9) – Philipp Treu (6), Matthias Ginter (7), Philipp Lienhart (7), Jordy Makengo (6) – Maximilian Eggestein (8), Johan Manzambi (7) – Jan-Niklas Beste (6), Yuito Suzuki (6), Vincenzo Grifo (6) – Igor Matanović (6)
Others: Lucas Höler (6), Derry Scherhant (6), Christian Günter (-), Lukas Kubler (-), Bruno Ogbus (-)
If there was a player on the pitch who did not deserve to be on the losing side tonight, it was Florian Müller. The Freiburg man kept his former club at bay throughout the second half as well as extra time, with no chance to save from Tiago Tomás's late winner.
With his performances in the Pokal this season, Müller has put himself at the forefront of the list to potentially replace Noah Atubolu as Freiburg's number one goalkeeper.
GGFN | Harry Good
