Stuttgart’s Naouirou Ahamada canceled out Christopher Nkunku’s opener to secure the “Swabians” a 1-1 stalemate against Leipzig in Bundesliga at home on Sunday.
The “Red Bulls” took the reins from the starting whistle and pressed Stuttgart into defense to mark the opener with seven minutes gone as Dani Olmo teed up for Nkunku, who made no mistake and slotted home from six meters into the far post corner.
Leipzig remained in control but couldn’t extend its lead as Stuttgart goalkeeper Florian Muller was equal to Lukas Klostermann’s dangerous header from inside the box four minutes later.
Stuttgart grew into the match as Silas Katompa Mvumpa pulled wide from a promising position before Sasa Kalajdzic traded passes with Ahamada, who curled the ball from 16 meters into the far post corner to level the scores at the half-hour mark.
The hosts gained momentum and came close in the dying minutes of the first half as Konstantinos Mavropanos rattled the woodwork with a hammer from 22 meters.
After the restart, the “Swabians” started where they left off, without doing much damage whereas Leipzig turned up as the match progressed.
For the remainder of the second half, Stuttgart’s Muller remained in the thick of things as the custodian defused the dangerous efforts from Nkunku, Andre Silva and Willi Orban.
Although the “Red Bulls” pressed frenetically, Stuttgart’s defense stood firm and secured a share of spoils in front of the home crowd.
“We played aggressively and intensively. We created many chances but still wrapped only one point. If we had utilized our chances, we would have left the pitch as deserved winners,” said Leipzig’s head coach Domenico Tedesco.
“It is a lucky but not undeserved draw. We fought like lions to the end,” said Stuttgart’s head coach Pellegrino Mattarazo.
Elsewhere, goals from Lucas Kilian, Florian Kainz and Dejan Ljubicic helped Cologne to beat ten-men Schalke 3-1. The newly promoted “Royal Blues” gave Cologne a hard time and reduced the arrears despite a numerical disadvantage.
