VfB Stuttgart dey pass through di toughest spell under Sebastian Hoeneß since im arrive for 2023, after four defeats inside six league matches. Saturday 1-0 loss to Hamburg make di frustration worse, but di results no always tell di full story, because glimpses of why VfB Stuttgart special under Hoeneß still dey show.
Angelo Stiller remain di center of dat work. Di German midfielder dey impress even though im side start di season anyhow. Opta talk say Stiller don make 51 line-breaking passes for Champions League dis season, more than any other player for di competition. To show how big dat number be, one Paris Saint-Germain midfielder bin register 227 before last season final, while Stiller already reach 51 after just two matches. VfB Stuttgart face Viking Stavanger and Slovan Bratislava for dia opening two games and tougher tests still dey front, but Stiller continue to shine for di heart of Hoeneß midfield and sometimes carry di side on im back.
Im contribution no stop for di Champions League. Stiller provide both assists for di 2-0 win against Paderborn, and im don register 65 line-breaking passes plus create 10 chances across 483 Bundesliga minutes. But at di same time, VfB Stuttgart as team dey struggle to convert all dis work for final third. FotMob talk say VfB Stuttgart don generate 12.3 expected goals for league so far, sixth-highest for di division, but dem score only eight times. Dem also create 24 big chances, third-highest behind Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, yet dem miss 21 of dem.
Saturday defeat for Volksparkstadion na di clearest example. VfB Stuttgart record 24 shots, hold 66% of di ball and generate 2.31 xG without finding di net. Ermedin Demirovic waste several promising opportunities, while Deniz Undav continue im frustrating league run as di woodwork and an inspired Daniel Heuer Fernandes deny am. Possession dey, with VfB Stuttgart averaging 54.5%, chances dey, quality dey. But for all di good work, Hoeneß side dey get undone at rate wey no common in recent years, and something must change soon. Defensive problems don also plague VfB Stuttgart for di opening months of di season.
