1. FC Heidenheim secured a thrilling 3:3 draw against VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga relegation battle. In front of 15,000 spectators, the league leaders fought fiercely and led until late. Deniz Undav's late goal salvaged a point for the visitors.
- FC Heidenheim ended a highly dramatic Bundesliga match against VfB Stuttgart 3:3 (2:2) on Saturday evening. The league leaders, who have yet to win a match this calendar year, displayed courageous play and wrested an important point from the favorites, who recently won 4:1 at Celtic Glasgow in the Europa League. Heidenheim remains six points behind the relegation playoff spot.
The game started with a lightning-quick goal for Stuttgart: Chris Führich capitalized on a ball loss by Jan Schöppner in the 5th minute to make it 1:0. Heidenheim responded swiftly, with Eren Dinkci equalizing in the 20th minute. The first half was turbulent: After fouling Dinkci, referee Sascha Stegemann initially let play continue, and Ermedin Demirović scored what seemed to be a 2:1 for Stuttgart. However, VAR review reversed this – penalty for Heidenheim, converted by Arijon Ibrahimović in the 34th minute after disallowing the VfB goal. Just before halftime, Maximilian Mittelstädt equalized 2:2 from the spot, following a foul by Christian Conteh.
In the second half, Stuttgart dominated, but another Demirović goal in the 70th minute was nullified for offside by VAR. Heidenheim took the lead in the 83rd minute through Sirlord Conteh for 3:2. Deniz Undav countered five minutes later to level the score. Jeff Chabot hit the post in stoppage time.
Coach Frank Schmidt praised the performance: 'We are almost damned to win and want to play that way.' Next week, Heidenheim travels to face Werder Bremen.
