SC Freiburg
| 1-2 | Hanke | (78. Min) |
VfB Stuttgart
| 0-1 | Ibisevic | (9. Min) |
| 0-2 | Werner | (10. Min) |
| 1-3 | Werner | (82. Min) |
Felix Klaus
Stats 
Timo Werner scores twice against Freiburg.
3:1 – Derby win!
VfB proved convincing in the first-half in closing the twelfth match day of the season away to SC Freiburg and answered the hosts second half goal with a quick counter attack to restore their advantage. A brace from Timo Werner and Vedad Ibisevic’s strike helped VfB to a 3-1 derby success!
Thomas Schneider was forced to alter his starting eleven from last weekend’s game in Dortmund due to the adductor injury to Arthur Bokan. The Ivory Coast international was replaced in the starting eleven by Konstantin Rausch, who filled in on the left side of the back four. In addition, Georg Niedermeier returned to the team, forcing Daniel Schwaab out to right-back and Gotoku Sakai onto the bench.
Vedad Ibisevic and Timo Werner double-whammy
VfB got off to a stunning start and were two goals up within the first quarter hour. Following an early chance for Alexandru Maxim, and a couple of openings at the Stuttgart end, VfB took a lightening quick lead and followed up with a second just 80 seconds later. Initially Konstantin Rausch set up Christian Gentner with a clever trick and the captain picked out Vedad Ibisevic, who routinely netted his eighth goal of the season (9’). Seconds later, Timo Werner burst through on the left, jinked through the SC defence and toe-poked the ball home to make it 2-0 (10‘).
Thomas Schneider: "I am very satisfied with my team." Post match comments
VfB had made a fantastic start and, as the game progressed, played a structured and convincing game. Freiburg managed to create some chances of their own. VfB had taken the foot off the pedal and allowed SC to come at them more than they had early in the game. With a half-hour on the clock, VfB thought they had extended their lead, but Timo Werner’s second strike was waved off-side.
VfB’s precise passing was a clear indicator of their first half superiority, as Werner & Co. varied their attacking play and often caused the side from the Breisgau region major problems with pacy counter attacking, coupled with well-timed diagonal passing. At the back, Thomas Schneider’s men always looked comfortable and deservedly took the two-goal advantage into the break.
Slideshow
Timo Werner restores comfortable lead
The second period began evenly matched, with both sides matching one another’s performance levels. The 24,000 strong crowd were treated to an intensive and entertaining derby, during which the home side raised the tempo around the hour mark. Firstly Konstantin Rausch took a knock and was forced out, to be replaced by Gotoku Sakai (58’). In the same minute, Sven Ulreich made a stunning stop to deny Matthias Genter’s header. VfB were having problems dealing with the Freiburg pressure, quickly losing possession and failing to relieve the strain on the defence.
It took Thomas Schneider’s men until the 70th minute to release some of the pressure from the hosts, who continued to look a threat at all times and eventually got back into the game when Mike Hanke reduced the deficit in the 78th minute. In spite of feeling the weight of the Freiburg push, VfB held their own and Timo Werner made use of his side’s first shot on goal to restore the VfB advantage promptly in the 82nd minute and make it 3-1. His goals made Werner the youngest player in VfB history to score a brace. In the closing minutes, the guests had the odd chance but were unable to extend their lead further still and in the end, marked their fourth win of the Bundesliga season, whilst at the same time taking revenge for the cup elimination in Freiburg earlier in the season.
