Concerns about Stiller after VfB victory against Augsburg

VfB Stuttgart paid dearly for its confident 4-0 (1-0) victory against FC Augsburg on the penultimate matchday of the Bundesliga.

German national player Angelo Stiller badly twisted his ankle in a foul by Manuel Essende and left the field limping and in tears. He later returned to the bench on crutches, pending a diagnosis.

Augsburg's Essende hit Stiller on the side of the calf with the heel of his foot, initially receiving a yellow card. After reviewing the video footage, referee Timo Gerach increased the penalty to a red card (12').

"We have to assume that there is a ligament injury," said VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß on "DAZN": "We will find out how serious it is tomorrow."

The goals on Sunday were scored by Atakan Karazor (8th minute), Nick Woltemade (51st minute), Enzo Millot (80th minute), and Ermedin Demirovic (87th minute). With the win, VfB pushed Borussia Mönchengladbach down to ninth place; neither team has relegation concerns or a chance of qualifying for the European Cup. Stuttgart improved its poor home record, having previously lost six consecutive home games.

VfB still has the season's highlight in sight: the cup final against Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday, May 24 (8 p.m.), in Berlin. Besides Stiller, Yannik Keitel is also in danger of missing that match. He came on for Stiller against Augsburg, but collided with teammate Finn Jeltsch's knee and had to leave the field after 34 minutes. Keitel had already missed a cup final due to injury in 2022, back then as a professional for SC Freiburg.

Hoeneß spoke of a "very strong horse kiss" in relation to Keitel, but at least gave a slight all-clear. He did not believe he was seriously injured. The same applied to Jeltsch, whom Hoeneß also had to replace due to injury. Three substitutions after just 34 minutes – a Bundesliga record.

VfB had a more active start against Augsburg and deserved their early lead. Jeff Chabot headed in a corner from the right, Jamie Leweling forced a strong save from Finn Dahmen, and captain Karazor tapped in the goal.

After the red card, VfB initially lost their momentum with a numerical advantage, and Augsburg improved. After about half an hour, however, Stuttgart regained momentum, failing to score another goal before the break.

After the break, it took just six minutes to make it 2-0. On the edge of the penalty area, Woltemade skillfully placed the ball on his right foot after a pass from Millot and fired a powerful shot into the left corner – a beautiful striker's goal. It was Woltemade's eleventh goal of the season, all of which he scored after the 10th matchday.

VfB subsequently managed the victory without taking too many risks – until the final stages. After Woltemade's pass, Deniz Undav had an ideal shot 15 meters from goal, but he deflected the ball with his standing foot and then shot wide.

Shortly thereafter, the third goal came: First, Ermedin Demirovic hit the crossbar, then Millot fired a perfect shot into the left corner. The assist came unintentionally from Augsburg's Phillip Tietz, who tried to take a lob under pressure but sent the ball toward Millot with his shin.

Shortly before the end, former Augsburg player Demirovic increased the score to 4-0 with his 14th goal of the season.

On the last matchday, Stuttgart will play in Leipzig on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., while Augsburg will host Union Berlin at the same time.

• football
• Bundesliga
• VfB Stuttgart
• FC Augsburg