Late Vagnoman strike seals superb Stuttgart away win

Stuttgart responded to an early setback to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory at the RheinEnergieStadion, with Josha Vagnoman’s late finish securing a statement result against an in-form Köln side.

Looking to quieten a buoyant home crowd after Köln’s strong start to life back in the Bundesliga, Stuttgart made four changes from Thursday’s Europa League outing. Chris Führich, Josha Vagnoman, Atakan Karazor and Tiago Tomas all returned to the starting XI.

The hosts struck first inside three minutes. Ragnar Ache burst through the middle before slipping a perfectly weighted pass to Jakub Kaminski, who delicately lifted the ball over the onrushing Alexander Nübel.

Ache almost doubled Köln’s lead moments later, lifting the ball over Nübel from 25 yards, but Anthony Jaquez raced back to clear off the line.

Gradually, VfB settled. Tomas forced Marvin Schwäbe into his first save in the 17th minute with an inventive overhead effort from an Angelo Stiller cross, and Ermedin Demirovic headed wide at the back post soon after.

The turning point came midway through the half. After a long stoppage with Demirovic down inside the box, VAR intervened to penalise Schwäbe for kicking the Bosnian while under pressure. Having seen Stiller miss against St. Pauli, Demirovic stepped up and calmly sent the keeper the wrong way, tucking his penalty into the bottom corner for his third goal of the season.

The equaliser shifted momentum towards the visitors, who began to dictate play, although Sebastian Sebulonsen’s long-range effort in stoppage time whistled narrowly wide of Nübel’s post.

The second half began evenly, with both sides enjoying bright spells without creating clear chances. Stuttgart were made to work hard against Köln’s compact defensive shape, and neither Führich nor Bilal El Khannouss were able to impose themselves as much as they would have liked. Badredine Bounani, fresh from his delightful goal against Celta Vigo, entered the fray with 20 minutes to play.

Köln came close to regaining the lead in the 77th minute when Said El Mala’s fierce strike from distance was pushed behind by Nübel. From the resulting corner, Kaminski’s header was blocked on the line by Maximilian Mittelstädt as the pressure mounted.

But with nine minutes remaining, Stuttgart found the decisive moment. A crisp passing move carved open Köln’s defence, with Stiller slipping a clever ball inside to Tom Krauß. Vagnoman arrived at pace to clip a left-footed finish over the advancing Schwäbe, sparking wild celebrations in the corner housing the travelling VfB supporters.

Köln nearly levelled five minutes from time when Eric Martel’s header from a Florian Kainz set piece tested Nübel, but the Stuttgart keeper gathered confidently. In stoppage time, VfB saw the game out with composure, limiting the hosts to half-chances and securing a superb away win.

This result lifts Stuttgart up to fifth place after five matches, a strong response to their stuttering start to the campaign.