Hoping to secure passage into the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal for just the second time in 12 years, Stuttgart got off to a dominant start against Augsburg, who haven’t made the final four of the tournament since 2010.
The hosts had almost two-thirds of possession in the first half, although they struggled to turn that dominance into goal-scoring chances. Deniz Undav looked the most threatening, but his effort midway through the half was a tame one that Nediljko Labrovic comfortably gathered. Die Roten continued to probe, however, and Undav found the opener on the half-hour mark, sweeping home following a swift counter-attack.
Buoyed by the opener, the hosts almost doubled their lead on the verge of half-time but Chris Fuhrich couldn’t beat the goalkeeper at his near post with his effort hitting the side netting.
Stuttgart picked up right where they left off following the restart, dominating possession and keeping Augsburg pinned in their own half.
The visitors struggled to gain a foothold in the contest, with Alexander Nübel untroubled in the Stuttgart goal. The German goalkeeper was eventually called into action in the 71st minute when Mert Komur let fly from distance, yet the stopper made a comfortable save on the stretch. Komur was proving to be the sole threat for the away side, as he forced another save out of Nubel minutes later, but after being picked out in the box, the German youngster couldn’t find the back of the net.
In the end, Undav’s first-half strike was enough for the southwest German side to progress into the final four of the competition, where they will be one game away from making their first final since the 2012/13 loss to Bayern Munich. Defeat ends Augsburg’s unbeaten run of four games and extends their winless H2H run to seven (W6, D1).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Deniz Undav (VfB Stuttgart)