BERLIN: VfB Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav scored the only goal in a 1-0 home win over RB Leipzig on Sunday, sending the fourth-placed hosts three points clear of the visitors in the Bundesliga.
Undav pounced on an error from Leipzig goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt to score his 16th goal of the season and move Stuttgart level with third-placed Hoffenheim on 50 points.
“Today, we just tried to win our duels. Winning those small moments gives us a boost in front of our home fans,” Undav said to DAZN.
“And when you get that 1-0, you play with a bit more confidence.”
Bayer Leverkusen, who were held to a 1-1 draw by a nine-man Bayern Munich on Saturday, sit five points behind Stuttgart and two behind fifth-placed Leipzig in a tight race for next season’s Champions League.
Stuttgart play at Porto in the Europa League on Thursday seeking to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit and reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since reaching the 1989 final.
Meanwhile, Jeong Woo-yeong scored in stoppage time and ‘keeper Matheo Raab produced a spectacular late save on his Union Berlin debut as the visitors won 1-0 at Freiburg.
Union’s first away win in 2026 took them seven points clear of the relegation playoff spot.
Elsewhere, Mainz won 2-0 at Werder Bremen to overtake the hosts and move three points clear of the relegation play-off spot.
A traditional giant in danger of a second relegation in six seasons, Bremen’s woes were summed up when their defender Marco Gruell seemed to be distracted by a pigeon walking on the field as Mainz took a quick throw for Paul Nebel’s fifth-minute opener. Mainz’s Lee Jae-Sung added another in the second half to boost their own chances of survival.
Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2026