Bilal El Khannouss celebrates his winning goal against Heidenheim. (Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
DeFodi Images via Getty Images
VfB Stuttgart has overcome its bitter midweek experience in the Europa League to beat local rivals 1. FC Heidenheim 1-0. New signing Bilal El Khannouss was the scorer of the only goal in front of 60,000 fans at the completely sold-out MHP Arena.
The result means Stuttgart has now climbed to fourth place ahead of the second international break of the season. It is a good turnaround after two defeats in the first two games of the season.
A 1-0 victory over Gladbach was sandwiched with defeats to Union Berlin (2-1) on matchday 1 and Freiburg (3-1) on matchday 3. Since then, Die Schwaben have won three Bundesliga games in a row, beating FC St. Pauli (2-0), Köln (2-1,) and now Heidenheim.
“It gives us a good feeling ahead of the international break,” Stuttgart head coach Sebastian Hoeneß said after the game. “It is also important that we have won the last three games at home without conceding, which gives us confidence.”
Today, the result never really seemed in doubt, even if Heidenheim did their best to keep Stuttgart from scoring. “Ourselves we struggled to make meaningful attacking plays,” Heidenheim head coach Frank Schmidt said. “Perhaps we should have been a bit better on the attack. Still, the first half was balanced, and we wanted to continue our play.”
That’s perhaps a bit of an exclusive view on how Heidenheim operated. Although Stuttgart didn’t play well, they did control their opponent. “We started the first half well,” Hoeneß said. “We had a big chance, and then we struggled with a defensive opponent.”
The numbers back Hoeneß’s observation. Stuttgart had over 60% possession going into halftime. And even though they struggled to structure their game, they never seemed in danger of conceding.
The win over Heidenheim means that Stuttgart is back in the Bundesliga top four. (Photo by Bernd Weißbrod/picture alliance via Getty Images)
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
That doesn’t mean that Stuttgart played well. In fact, they didn’t, not until the second half when Angelo Stiller came on for Atakan Karazor. Stiller was given a break by Hoeneß after the two had a conversation after the Basel game. The match against Heidenheim, however, highlighted the importance of the German national team player.
Once Stiller came on, Stuttgart was more structured and finally broke down the Heidenheim defense. The goal by El Khannouss, who is currently on loan from Leicester with an obligation to buy under conditions, was a brilliant moment.
It was an individual, brilliant moment by El Khannouss that sealed the win for Stuttgart. Surrounded by four defenders, the Moroccan scored from outside the box. “He showed what he can do, that he is two-footed,” Hoeneß. “He has improved his ability to score goals.”
The Moroccan certainly was the big difference maker this afternoon. But he is also symbolic of something else. Stuttgart’s squad is much deeper than last season, and there is significant talent in this team even after Nick Woltemade was sold to Newcastle United.
Players like El Khannouss, Stiller, and the Spaniard Chema Andrés are now giving Hoeneß the ability to influence a game from the bench when needed. Being able to rotate at a high level and respond to games could help maintain fourth place in the Bundesliga.
It also allows top players to take much-needed breaks. “I speak to the players during busy periods, and after having a chat with him, we decided together that he needed a break,” Hoeneß said. Will it be enough to return to the top four this season? Time will tell.