Undav Strikes Late to Rescue Stuttgart in Six-Goal Thriller at Heidenheim

Stuttgart Maintain Top-Four Position as Basement Side Miss Out on Crucial Victory

Deniz Undav struck two minutes from time to salvage a dramatic 3–3 draw for VfB Stuttgart against bottom-placed 1. FC Heidenheim in Sunday’s Bundesliga encounter.

The hosts appeared poised for a priceless victory as the match entered its closing stages, holding a 3–2 advantage. However, Undav capitalised on slack marking inside the penalty area to fire home unchallenged and ensure Stuttgart departed with a share of the spoils.

The result keeps Stuttgart fourth in the Bundesliga standings, two points clear of RB Leipzig. Heidenheim, meanwhile, remain rooted to the foot of the table, six points adrift of safety.

Stuttgart began brightly despite signs of fatigue following their emphatic 4–1 UEFA Europa League triumph at Celtic F.C. on Thursday. Heidenheim gifted the visitors an early advantage, surrendering possession cheaply to Chris Führich, who finished clinically after just five minutes.

The hosts responded through Eren Dinkçi midway through the first half, restoring parity with a composed finish.

Ermedin Demirović thought he had re-established Stuttgart’s lead, but VAR intervened, identifying a foul on Dinkçi earlier in the passage of play. The decision resulted in a penalty for Heidenheim, which Arijon Ibrahimović converted confidently.

Stuttgart were awarded a penalty of their own before the interval, and Maximilian Mittelstädt made no mistake from the spot to level proceedings at 2–2 heading into half-time.

The second period continued in similarly dramatic fashion. Demirović once again found the net midway through the half, only for his effort to be disallowed for a marginal offside. Heidenheim then edged ahead in the 82nd minute when Sirlord Conteh reacted quickest to convert a rebound, seemingly sealing a vital three points.

Yet Undav had the final word, arriving unmarked to rifle home in the closing stages and deny the hosts a rare victory.

Freiburg Climb as Gladbach Slide Continues

Elsewhere in Sunday’s Bundesliga action, SC Freiburg secured a 2–1 home victory over an out-of-form Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Former Gladbach defender Matthias Ginter opened the scoring from a corner before the break, and Igor Matanović doubled the advantage midway through the second half with a close-range finish. Haris Tabaković netted a late consolation for the visitors.

The win lifts Freiburg above Eintracht Frankfurt into seventh place. Despite progressing to the Europa League last 16, the Black Forest outfit remain six points shy of the guaranteed European qualification spots.

Meanwhile, FC St. Pauli boosted their survival hopes with a 2–1 victory over SV Werder Bremen.

Goals from Hauke Wahl and Joel Chima Fujita propelled St. Pauli out of the automatic relegation places, leapfrogging Bremen in the process.

Bremen’s alarming slump continues, with the club now winless in 13 matches — a new unwanted record. Captain Marco Friedl expressed his frustration in an interview with DAZN.

“It hurts enormously,” he admitted. “We need a breakthrough — something we should have achieved weeks ago.”