DPA
Turin (Italy)
VfB Stuttgart hope that their impressive performance in a 1-0 Champions League victory at Juventus will boost them for upcoming tasks in what has so far been a rocky start into the season.
Stuttgart were surprise Bundesliga runners-up last season but have had a difficult time adjusting to a heavier schedule with three competitions this term, and half a dozen players now also German national team members.
They are in mid-table in the league, and had garnered only one point in Europe before Tuesday’s success in Turin.
Stuttgart rebounded strongly from a crushing 4-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Saturday when they dominated the ex-champions Juventus.
The winner from El Bilal Toure did not come until stoppage time, after Ermedin Demirovic hit the post, Deniz Undav had a goal ruled out, and Juventus goalkeeper Mattia Perrin made several big saves, including a late penalty from Enzo Millot.
“This win will help us to keep developing,” coach Sebastian Hoeness said
“One of the things we can take from this game is that we’ll get our reward if we’re willing to do everything to get it, and if we stick to our plan together.”
Hoeness said the team showed a “brilliant reaction” after the defeat in Munich.
Board member for sport Fabian Wohlgemuth named the victory “a very good sign” and that the team could “become more and more stable over the course of the season” despite the workload.
Stuttgart have seven matches in total over three weeks until the November international break. They next face lowly Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga, then last year’s finalists Kaiserslautern in the German Cup, while their Champions League adventure continues against Europa League winners Atalanta in a fortnight.
“It’s a lot of fun playing in the Champions League and we’re giving it everything we’ve got,” forward Jamie Leweling said.
