VfB Stuttgart earned a 3-0 victory over Fortuna Sittard in front of 5,500 fans at the Frankenstadion in Heilbronn. The team’s third pre-season friendly was played over two 60-minute halves in order to give every player a runout.
Goals:
12th minute: Following a neat attack down the right, Jamie Leweling crosses into the penalty area, where Silas is lurking inside the six-yard box. He controls the ball on his chest and finishes into the top-right corner to give VfB the lead.
17th minute: New signing Erdemin Demirovic flicks on a corner from Angelo Stiller to the back post, where the unmarked Leweling prods in to make it 2-0.
67th minute: Justin Diehl gets forward down the left and sends a powerful shot into the right-hand corner to net VfB’s third.
Reaction:
Head coach Sebastian Hoeneß: “I’m very satisfied, especially given the conditions – it was really hot in Heilbronn this afternoon. We were focused and clearly controlled the game. If we’d have scored more goals I’d have been totally satisfied. I could see that we’ve taken a step forward. That was noticeable in training during the week and I’m pleased that we were able to take it into this game too.”
Erdemin Demirovic: “It was my first game with the team today and I think we did pretty well. I’m gradually getting used to the playing style and getting behind the defence – I watched VfB last season too. It’s a lot of fun playing in a team that has so much possession and creates so much. I can’t wait to get going in competitive games.”
VfB line-up:
First half
1 Fabian Bredlow – 6 Angelo Stiller, 9 Erdemin Demirovic, 10 Wooyeong Jeong, 13 Frans Krätzig, 14 Silas, 15 Pascal Stenzel, 16 Atakan Karazor (C), 18 Jamie Leweling, 24 Jeff Chabot, 29 Anthony Rouault
Second half
41 Dennis Seimen – 3 Ramon Hendriks, 5 Yannik Keitel, 11 Nick Woltemade, 17 Justin Diehl (113' Moussa Cissé), 31 Christopher Olivier, 37 Maximilian Herwerth (113' Anrie Chaise,45), 39 Alexandre Azevedo, 40 Luca Raimund, 43 Raul Paula, 46 Samuele Di Benedetto (100' Ömer Beyaz)