VfB Stuttgart
FC Schalke 04
| 0-1 | Choupo-Moting | (1. Min) |
| 0-2 | Meyer | (10. Min) |
| 0-3 | Choupo-Moting | (21. Min) |
| 0-4 | Choupo-Moting | (61. Min) |
Stats 
Clear defeat
A dreadful start to the game saw VfB struggle at home to Schalke, having conceded three early goals. In the end, the final score-line read 0-4, with the visitors from Gelsenkirchen stealing all three points away from Stuttgart.
Huub Stevens began the clash against FC Schalke 04 with the same eleven that had begun in the game against SC Freiburg last Friday evening. Following the Baden-Württemberg derby, VfB got off to the worst possible start against the Royal-Blues and found themselves trailing with just 50 seconds played. Tranquillo Barnetta swung in a free-kick from the left and found Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who duly found the net. And the problems were to continue for Stevens’s men. After just ten minutes, Max Meyer made it 2-0 for the visitors. VfB were then shaken into action and had a couple of chances of their own through Timo Werner (11‘) and Sercan Sararer (12‘), but there was no way past Ralf Fährmann in the Schalke goal.
Having appeared to have recovered from their poor start, VfB suddenly found themselves further behind. A corner from the right by Tranquillo Barnetta again found the unmarked Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who headed home to make it 3-0 (21’). The VfB players refused to accept their fate lying down and continued to look for a way back into the tie, but the guests remained a constant threat, particularly from set-pieces, and Sven Ulreich was forced into action to prevent Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from increasing the damage before the break. As a result, VfB went in at half-time trailing by 0-3.
Huub Stevens: "We were dealing out the St. Nicholas‘ Day! I had told the lads before the game to be wary of set-pieces from our opponents. When you see the way we started though, it was very clear that we were having a real problem in those situations. I also said to the guys that it’s better to lose a game 0-4 than 0-1. We need to learn from this one and get ourselves prepared for the next game." Post match comments
Better start to the second half
From a Florian Klein corner, Christian Gentner had the first opportunity of the second period, but the captain’s effort failed to find the target (48’). The Cannstatt Boys were far more aggressive in the early phase of the second half, but could create little in or around the opposition box, with the exception of a drive from distance by substitute Oriol Romeu narrowly zipping wide of the goal. On the hour mark, Ulreich did well to make a stop from Tranquillo Barnetta, but the VfB keeper could do nothing to prevent Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting making it 4-0 for the visitors, as the Cameroon international sealed his hat-trick (61‘).
The hosts had a chance to reduce the deficit with a header from Martin Harnik (70‘), but there was to be nothing in it on the day for VfB, who were left empty handed and dejected at the end of a bitterly disappointing 0-4 home defeat. The hosts finished the game with just ten men, as Antonio Rüdiger was forced out through injury shortly before the final whistle.
