Stuttgart thrash lowly Wolfsburg to cement top-four spot in Bundesliga

[p]After relegation rivals Werder Bremen and St Pauli both won yesterday, it was imperative that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/wolfsburg/nwkTahLL/"]Wolfsburg[/a] got something from one of the division’s tougher away fixtures.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/vfb-stuttgart/nJQmYp1B/"]Stuttgart[/a] had lost just one of their prior 11 Bundesliga home matches, and a fast start here had them well on their way to further success.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/demirovic-ermedin/dIsZ5Eyb/"]Ermedin Demirovic[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fuhrich-chris/bczcNJFB/"]Chris Fuhrich[/a] were both denied by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/grabara-kamil/0MhuM4YL/"]Kamil Grabara[/a] in the early stages, before Die Schwaben found their breakthrough just after the 20-minute mark.[/p][p][b]Fuhrich breezed past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kumbedi-sael/vaX5DmSc/"]Sael Kumbedi[/a] on the left before squaring the ball, which could only be cleared as far as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/undav-deniz/tUHAdtMH/"]Deniz Undav[/a] via a deflection, and the Stuttgart striker made no mistake in lashing home from close range.[/b][/p][p][b]Wolfsburg were reeling, and by the half-hour mark, the game looked beyond them. Stuttgart doubled their lead through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leweling-jamie/UTtpcjym/"]Jamie Leweling[/a], who tucked home at the far post after being found by Fuhrich’s cutback. [/b][/p][embed guid="1b5fc3a2-1e49-459b-962c-3f213a7a1652" url="https://x.com/VfB_int/status/2028125672816697350" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]And Leweling soon had his second of the game and seventh of the Bundesliga campaign, spectacularly beating Grabara with a powerful half-volley after yet another botched Wolfsburg clearance.[/b][/p][p]Three goals down at the break, damage limitation was the order of the day for Die Wolfe following the restart, and a triple substitution - combined with Stuttgart understandably dropping their intensity - helped them stop the bleeding.[/p][p]There were still lucky escapes, as Grabara denied [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/el-khannous-bilal/Ui6gj3Cl/"]Bilal El Khannouss[/a] at his near post before clawing a cross away from the same player with Demirovic waiting behind him.[/p][p][b]Grabara was again called into action late on to deny Demirovic, and though the contest ultimately petered out, further damage was inflicted on the beleaguered visitors when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nartey-nikolas/ja18uZOO/"]Nikolas Nartey[/a]’s late chip took a deflection to beat Grabara. [/b][/p][p]Wolfsburg sit three points adrift of definite safety, and have now failed to win their last five away games, conceding 17 goals in total. Stuttgart, meanwhile, have netted 3+ goals in seven of their last 10 outings, and have opened up a provisional five-point gap over the chasing pack inside the top four.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fuhrich-chris/bczcNJFB/"]Chris Fuhrich[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/vfb-stuttgart/nJQmYp1B/"]Stuttgart[/a])[/b][/p][image alt="Player ratings" id="cbad11f0-1778-4c4d-88f4-160059993bf7" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="1e2682df-c801-4f51-8e63-a2a92528de7f" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/stuttgart-nJQmYp1B/wolfsburg-nwkTahLL/summary/stats/?mid=QJVMGQIN"]See all the match stats here.[/a][/b][/p]