Bundesliga test matches: Stuttgart loses, Cologne and Hoffenheim win convincingly

The Bundesliga teams have entered the final phase of their preseason preparations. The DFB-Pokal begins next weekend, and cup winners VfB Stuttgart will host champions FC Bayern Munich in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup (Saturday, 8:30 p.m., Sat.1 and Sky). The season in the upper echelons of German football kicks off on August 22nd (8:30 p.m., Sat.1 and Sky).

Many top-flight football teams faced dress rehearsals and crucial endurance tests. While Stuttgart suffered a defeat amid the hype surrounding national striker Nick Woltemade, who was being courted by record champions Munich, newly promoted 1. FC Köln and last year's bottom-placed TSG Hoffenheim celebrated major successes.

In VfB Stuttgart's final preseason match against Italian Cup winners FC Bologna, Woltemade, who would like to transfer, put in a committed but unfortunate performance. However, there were no demonstrations of displeasure from Stuttgart fans.

First, the attacker missed a chance to give Stuttgart an early lead from five meters in the 17th minute. A quarter of an hour later, in front of 42,000 spectators, the 23-year-old unluckily deflected a cross in his own penalty area to Martin Vitik, who headed in the winner for the visitors in the clash between the two Europa League participants (32nd minute).

Shortly after the break (50th minute), Woltemade narrowly missed a cross in a close game. Then, in the 57th minute, a goal he thought he'd scored was ruled out for offside. Stuttgart's defeat was their only one in six friendly matches, four of which they won.

The upcoming Supercup is fraught with transfer speculation. VfB has rejected offers from FC Bayern and reiterated its intention to continue to rely on the U21 European runner-up next season. A recent statement by Bayern's sporting director, Max Eberl, also suggested Woltemade would play for the Swabians for at least another year.

"We tried hard to get the player. Stuttgart hasn't indicated they're willing to talk," Eberl said on Wednesday. Therefore , a transfer is "off the table." However, he left a back door open for a Woltemade transfer, citing the transfer period that runs until September 1. VfB sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth told SWR on the sidelines of the match against Bologna that there was no update.

One week before the start of their competitive campaign, the Kraichgau region is in goal-scoring form. TSG Hoffenheim won 8-0 (5-0) at home against French first division side FC Metz in the season opener. The match lasted 120 minutes, as previously agreed between the teams.

Hoffenheim scored within minutes of each other in the first half, with Max Moerstedt (7'), summer signings Woter Burger (8') and Bernardo (14'), and Muhammed Damar (16'). Things got even worse for Metz shortly before halftime when Idrissa Gueye scored an own goal (45'+1'). After the break, striker Tim Lemperle, who joined from 1. FC Köln in the summer, scored twice (55'/90') and veteran Andrej Kramaric (73') sealed the final score.

Puts the finishing touch: New signing Tim Lemperle scores the 8-0 against Metz.

Source: IMAGO/Jan Huebner

Things will get serious for TSG this season for the first time next Saturday. Hoffenheim will host third-division side Hansa Rostock in the first round of the German Cup. A week later, coach Christian Ilzer's team will face German runners-up Bayer Leverkusen in their league opener.

The newly promoted team appears well-prepared for the upcoming season. The Rhinelanders concluded their summer preseason with a 4-0 (2-0) victory against Champions League contenders Atalanta Bergamo. The team, led by new coach Lukas Kwasniok (who arrived from Paderborn), was clearly superior to last year's third-placed Serie A team in front of 40,100 spectators, although the Italians put in a weak performance.

Jan Thielmann scored twice (26th and 58th minutes), Jakub Kaminski (32nd minute), and Luca Waldschmidt's penalty (66th minute) secured the decisive victory for FC Köln. Next Sunday, Cologne's first competitive match of the season awaits them in the DFB-Pokal against second-division relegated side Jahn Regensburg, and a week later, they kick off their Bundesliga campaign against Mainz 05.

A few hours before the test, Cologne had unveiled another new signing. Turkish international Cenk Özkacar was signed for the defensive line. The 24-year-old will join on loan from the traditional Spanish club Valencia CF until the end of the season, the club announced.

A few days after the end of his suspension, Florian Neuhaus scored the winning goal for Borussia Mönchengladbach in a friendly against Brentford FC. Neuhaus scored in the 40th minute to make it 2-1 in the Premier League clash. Robin Hack (21st minute) had previously equalized the deficit, which Brentford's Romelle Donovan had scored in the 19th minute. The match was played behind closed doors at the English Premier League club's training ground.

Florian Neuhaus, who was suspended for four weeks, scored the winning goal in the friendly against Brentford FC.

Source: David Inderlied/dpa

A month ago, a video surfaced of Neuhaus, allegedly filmed on the Balearic island of Mallorca. In it, the player made a disrespectful remark about Borussia manager Roland Virkus, before Neuhaus appeared on the scene and revealed his own salary, reportedly "four million" euros. Gladbach fined the 28-year-old a six-figure sum and relegated him to the U23 team for four weeks.

At the beginning of this week, Neuhaus returned to training with the Bundesliga club. The midfielder had publicly admitted the mistake. "Flo already apologized in an internal meeting four weeks ago – we acknowledge that he is now making this public," Virkus said. The matter is now closed.

The Hessian Champions League participant concluded their preseason with a defeat to Fulham FC. After a 3-1 victory against the London Premier League club behind closed doors, Frankfurt were defeated 0-1 (0-1) in front of fans.

In the first of the two games, Elye Wahi scored a brace and Ritsu Doan, who had only moved to Frankfurt from SC Freiburg a few days ago, scored the goals for Eintracht.

A few hours later, Eintracht Frankfurt suffered a deserved defeat. Fulham's Raúl Jiménez sealed the final score with a stunning free kick in the 35th minute. Farès Chaïbi had the best chance to equalize (67th minute), but his shot hit the post.

Eintracht Frankfurt will play their first competitive match of the new season on August 17. They will then face fifth-division side FV Engers in a cup tie. Six days later, they will host Werder Bremen in their Bundesliga opener.

The Bundesliga returnee suffered another loss against a top-class opponent at the end of their preseason preparations for the upcoming season. At the end of their training camp in Mallorca, HSV lost 2-0 (0-1) to Spanish first division side RCD Mallorca.

Previously, the Hamburg team had suffered defeats in tests against Danish champions FC Copenhagen, Austrian title holders Sturm Graz, Olympique Lyon and SC Freiburg.

On the Balearic island, former Bochum player Takuma Asano gave the hosts the lead in the 13th minute. Hamburg's Miro Muheim scored a bizarre own goal in the 59th minute, lobbling a header over goalkeeper Daniel Peretz without being challenged. The ignominious finale: defender Jordan Torunarigha received a red card for a serious foul in the 90th minute.

Georgian Giorgi Gotscholeischwili, signed this week, was in the starting lineup in his first game for HSV. The newly formed team showed some good signs of coming into their own, especially in the second half, but they still seemed far from settled and revealed some weaknesses, especially in defense.

In the first round of the DFB Cup, they face Oberliga side FK Pirmasens. One week later, HSV will play their first Bundesliga match since relegation in 2018 at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

SC Freiburg – CA Osasuna 2:2 (1:0/1:2; playing time 135 minutes )

Werder Bremen – Udinese Calcio 1:2 (0:2)

Mainz 05 – Racing Strasbourg 0:0

FC St. Pauli – Hellas Verona 1:0 (1:0)

FC Augsburg – Sunderland 0:1 (0:1)

Union Berlin – Olympiacos Piraeus 0:1 (0:0)

RC Lens – RB Leipzig 2:1 (0:0)

Brighton & Hove Albion – VfL Wolfsburg 1:2 (0:1)

1. FC Heidenheim – Parma Calcio 2:1 (2:0)

With material from dpa