After an incredibly cagey opening 20 minutes, the hosts started to take control of possession, albeit without carrying any major attacking threat. Urs Fischer’s men had scored fewer goals than any other side inside the Bundesliga top ten going into the clash, so perhaps it wasn’t surprising that the struggling Stuttgart managed to keep them at bay.
Taiwo Awoniyi grew in influence as the half progressed, and saw his accurate finish into the far corner chalked off for offside. Just moments later, however, the Nigerian opened the scoring from the spot with his 16th Bundesliga strike, moving level with Max Kruse as Union’s all-time top scorer in the top flight in the process. Florian Müller was comprehensively beaten by his nerveless spot-kick after Konstantinos Mavropanos was penalised for handball.
Union entered game management mode after the break, as they failed to register as much as a shot in the first 20 minutes of the second half. When that first effort did come, though, it really should’ve ended the game as a contest. Sheraldo Becker’s pinpoint cross found Niko Gieselmann, but he inexplicably directed his close-range header wide of the target.
Stuttgart kept applying pressure and eventually it paid off, as star man Borna Sosa picked out Kalajdžić, who turned home from close range. The late goal secured a crucial point in the battle against relegation for Pellegrino Matarazzo’s men, which came against the run of play. Union will be hugely disappointed to have surrendered what looked a comfortable lead, and the result leaves them three points adrift of the European positions.
