VfB Stuttgart's Bundesliga campaign began with a heavy 5-1 defeat to champions Bayern Munich on the opening night of the season, leaving Stuttgart with an immediate setback.
Sebastian Hoeneß's side showed promise in the first half. Tiago Tomás hit the crossbar, and goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow made saves from Nathaniel Brown and Konrad Laimer. After the break, they found a route back into the game. Following a Jeff Chabot header that Manuel Neuer saved, Josha Vagnoman tapped in the rebound to make it 1-2. That moment, with the lowest goal probability of just 12 percent, offered brief hope. It was short-lived. Soon after, Vagnoman unfortunately turned a cross into his own net for Bayern's third goal, which proved decisive.
For Stuttgart, Josha Vagnoman was the central figure, albeit in a negative way. The defender scored his team's only goal but also conceded the costly own goal for 3-1. Alongside him, Grischa Prömel and Dženan Pejčinović made their Bundesliga debuts for the club. For Bayern, Michael Olise dominated proceedings. He hit the post, had a goal disallowed for offside, scored one, and was voted Man of the Match with 65 percent of the vote. Debutants Ismael Saibari, who provided two assists, and Nathaniel Brown in the number 10 role also impressed for the champions.
The defeat has immediate consequences for the league table. VfB Stuttgart sits in 18th and last place in the Bundesliga after this one game. Their record shows zero points, zero draws, and one loss. Their goal difference stands at minus four, having scored one and conceded five. In the title race, they are already three points behind leaders Bayern Munich. Also, the squad is currently dealing with several absentees. The injuries list includes Dan Zagadou, Dennis Seimen, Jeremy Arevalo, Leo Sauer, Lorenz Assignon, and Luca Jaquez.
The team has little time to dwell on the heavy loss. The next fixture arrives on 4 September 2026. VfB Stuttgart will host 1. FC Köln at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Köln currently occupies 13th place in the table. It's an early opportunity to secure the first points of the season and stop the negative momentum. The full schedule for the coming weeks can be viewed on our fixtures page. The task for Hoeneß and his team is clear: the defence must be solidified to achieve a better result against Köln.
