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September 14, 2024
VfB Stuttgart’s promising attacker Justin Diehl sustained a serious injury during a reserve match in the 3. Liga on Saturday afternoon.
Germany’s main sporting tabloid reports that the 19-year-old dislocated his shoulder and will be out long term.
New VfB Stuttgart summer signing Justin Diehl was substituted early in Saturday’s VfB II match in the 3. Liga against FC Ingolstadt due to what appeared to be a serious shoulder injury. According to Germany’s “Sport Bild,” the teenage talent has suffered a dislocated shoulder and will be out for an extended period. After being promoted to the Köln senior team last winter, Diehl made nine appearances for Timo Schultz’s Geißböcke.
The highly regarded young player joined Stuttgart on a free transfer from 1. FC Köln during the offseason. While VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß did not include Diehl in his UEFA Champions League roster, the Köln native has been part of three match-day squads this season, logging minutes as a substitute in the opening Bundesliga and Pokal games.
Recently, Diehl started two matches for the Germany U20s during the latest international break and was sent to the Stuttgart reserves for more playing time and to build confidence in the German third division. Unfortunately, his debut for VfB II lasted only eight minutes after a foul by Ingolstadt’s Ryan Malone caused him to fall hard.
The most recent Bundesliga 15:30 kickoffs yielded an exciting array of results, as German European contenders Bayer 04 Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart, and Eintracht Frankfurt each secured three points against their opponents Hoffenheim, Gladbach, and Wolfsburg.
SC Freiburg also secured a home victory against VfL Bochum. Meanwhile, the only match that ended in a draw saw RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin play to a 0-0 stalemate at the Red Bull Arena.
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer 04 Leverkusen have responded to their loss to Leipzig with a 4-1 win over Pellegrino Matarazzo’s Kraichgauer at the PreZero Arena. Nigerian striker Victor Boniface netted two goals and registered an assist in the victory. Germany’s red company team relatively quickly shook off an attempted comeback from the Kraichgauer, who tried to replicate their performance from the last time Leverkusen visited Sinsheim. In the end, the defending champs prevailed comfortably.
Xabi made three changes to the team that saw its record league unbeaten run snap against Leipzig just before the international break. Lukas Hradecky returned to take his place between the sticks. Robert Andrich and Nathan Tella took over for Aleix Garcia and the not-yet-ready Jeremie Frimpong in the outfield. Die Werkself maintained their 3-4-3 shape.
Injuries forced TSG trainer Matarazzo to make two changes to the XI that lost to Frankfurt two weeks ago. Grischa Prömel (ACL rupture) and Adam Hlozek (thigh problems) were unavailable. Florian Grillitsch replaced Prömel while Mërgim Berisha – in his very first start for Hoffenheim due to the ACL tear he suffered last season – supplanted the ex-Leverkusener Hlozek. The Sinsheimers shifted to a 3-4-1-2.
The defending champs were keen to begin proceedings on the front foot yet were frustrated by the TSG defensive set-up. Grillitsch anchored the back-three well, with Dennis Geiger and Anton Stach returning as defensive sixes. The dominant Westphalian guests rarely found a way through and were often caught offside whenever they did. TSG counters remained choppy and ineffectively timed as well.
The match suddenly sprang to life in the 17th when B04 striker Boniface punched through on the half-right and set up Martin Terrier for the 1-0. The offside flag rendered the play redundant, but a VAR review allowed the tally to stand. After taking the lead, however, Leverkusen continued to struggle with Matarazzo’s offside trap.
Kraichgauer keeper Oliver Baumann prevented the 2-0 in the 28th with a strong parry of a Boniface effort. Boniface narrowly missed with another header seconds later. Finally, with his third chance in as many minutes, the Nigerian striker powered home the 2-0 at the half-hour mark after dusting off a loose marking Alexander Prass on the right side of the box.
Very much against the run-of-play, Hoffenheim was able to pull a goal back in the 37th. Kramaric set up debutant Berisha for the 1-2 on a play that featured some loose marking from Piero Hincapie. Berisha thought he had bagged a brace seconds later but was ruled well offside on the supposed 2-2. Boniface and Florian Wirtz came close to restoring the tow-goal cushion before the half was out.
After a sleepy start to the second half, the defending Bundesliga champions opted to wake up two minutes shy of the hour mark. A triple chance from Andrich, Boniface, and Terrier in the 58th somehow failed to produce a goal. Boniface again missed a close-range header in the 67th. At long last, the 3-1 came from the spot in the 72nd. Wirtz converted a penalty following a Geiger foul on Grimaldo in the area.
Boniface placed the lid on proceedings with a superb finish from the half-left in the 75th. Not much transpired after the 4-1, though TSG sub-Jacob Braun Larsen generated a pair of chances in a lively performance off the bench. For the most part, however, the match was uneventful, sovereign, and composed.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga’s 15:30 kickoffs, 2023/24 Bundesliga runners-up VfB Stuttgart were finally able to secure their first league win of the new season. Sebastian Hoeneß’ Swabians took all three points from their trip to Gladbach. VfB striker Deniz Undav scored his first goal in the new campaign. In contrast, marquee new summer addition Ermedin Demirovic added a scorer’s brace in the 3-1 victory.
Two other teams won their fixtures via 2-1 scorelines that featured scorer’s braces from key players. Freiburg pulled out a home 2-1 victory over Bochum thanks to a blitz brace from striker Junior Adamu. Frankfurt also took out Wolfsburg with a 2-1 win at the Volkswagen Arena. SGE striker Omar Marmoush notched two tallies against his former club.
In a significant development at the Red Bull Arena, RB Leipzig could not score a goal against visiting 1. FC Union Berlin. RB striker Loïs Openda failed against FCU keeper Frederik Rønnow from the spot. Rønnow ensured that the German Red Bulls were held to a 0-0 draw. The underdog guests even enjoyed the better share of chances down the stretch.
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Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and cricket sportsbook app reviews. As an author for Latest Football News, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for cricket, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.
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