Germany forward Deniz Undav scored in the 88th minute to secure a 3-3 draw for Stuttgart against last-place Heidenheim, keeping the visitors in fourth for Champions League qualification. The result highlighted the tight race at both ends of the Bundesliga table, with implications for relegation and European spots. Other matches saw St. Pauli edge Bremen 2-1, Freiburg beat Gladbach 2-1, and Koln draw 2-2 with Hoffenheim.
In a dramatic Bundesliga encounter on Sunday, Stuttgart fought back to draw 3-3 at Heidenheim, a result that maintained their position in the final Champions League qualification spot but prevented them from extending a four-point lead over fifth-place Leipzig, who drew 2-2 with Borussia Dortmund the previous day.
Chris Führich gave Stuttgart an early lead, but Eren Dinkci equalized for Heidenheim. Ermedin Demirović's apparent second goal for Stuttgart was disallowed by VAR, which instead awarded a penalty to Heidenheim after Maximilian Mittelstädt fouled Dinkci in the box. Arijon Ibrahimović converted the spot kick to put the hosts ahead 2-1. Mittelstädt redeemed himself by scoring from another penalty just before halftime, leveling at 2-2.
In the second half, Demirović had another goal ruled out for offside, and Heidenheim substitute Sirlord Conteh scored in the 82nd minute after Ibrahimović's shot was saved, seemingly securing a 3-2 win. However, Undav equalized four minutes from time and nearly scored again in stoppage time, only to be denied by goalkeeper Diant Ramaj. Heidenheim's Adam Kölle headed wide in added time, missing a chance to close the gap to second-last Werder Bremen to three points ahead of their next meeting.
Elsewhere, St. Pauli boosted its survival hopes with a 2-1 home win over Bremen, thanks to Joel Chima Fujita's 70th-minute winner after Jovan Milošević had equalized. This moved St. Pauli above Bremen into the relegation playoff position, extending Bremen's winless run to 13 games and marking their third straight defeat under coach Daniel Thioune.
Freiburg climbed to seventh with a 2-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach, goals from Matthias Ginter and Igor Matanović extending their home winning streak to five across competitions, while Gladbach's winless run reached seven.
In another thriller, FC Koln drew 2-2 with third-place Hoffenheim at RheinEnergieSTADION. Ragnar Ache opened the scoring in the 15th minute, Ozan Kabak equalized before halftime, Andrej Kramaric headed Hoffenheim ahead, and Said El Mala leveled four minutes later. Koln moved five points clear of Bremen, while Hoffenheim's six-point cushion over fifth could shrink to three depending on other results. Hoffenheim have won seven and drawn two of their last 10 matches, with only one loss.
