VfB Stuttgart kicked off the second Bundesliga matchday with a clear 4:1 home victory over 1. FC Cologne. The win on Friday evening secured the Swabians their first three points of the 2026/27 season, improving their record to one win and one loss from two games. Spectacular individual goals decided the match in front of 60,000 spectators at a sold-out MHPArena.
VfB Stuttgart started the match at a high tempo and created major chances early on. However, Josha Vagnoman and Dzenan Pejcinovic only hit the crossbar. The breakthrough finally came in the 39th minute through a remarkable solo run by Bilal El Khannouss, who scored to make it 1:0. In the second half, goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow secured the result with important saves before Grischa Prömel added a second goal. Substitutes Ermedin Demirovic and Josha Vagnoman then scored further goals to seal the clear 4:1 final score. Head coach Sebastian Hoeneß said he was moved by the fans' atmosphere, who had marched to the stadium in the traditional 'Karawane Cannstatt'.
The sporting success of recent years is also clearly reflected in the club's finances. VfB Stuttgart has placed itself back in the top 20 of the world's highest-revenue football clubs for the first time since the 2009/10 season. In the Deloitte Football Money League for the 2024/25 season, the club ranks 18th with a total revenue of 296.3 million euros. This makes Stuttgart the third-strongest Bundesliga club in this ranking, behind FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. The study highlights that VfB recorded the largest percentage and absolute revenue increase of all analyzed Bundesliga clubs. This solid financial foundation is important for further squad development, as shown by the current injury list featuring five absent players.
On Wednesday, VfB Stuttgart will begin the group stage of the newly formatted Champions League. Their first match is against Norwegian champions Viking Stavanger. Each of the 36 qualified clubs receives a starting fee of 18.62 million euros. Additional performance-based bonuses are available for each win in the league phase. These enormous revenues from Europe's top competition are another important building block for the club's financial stability and sporting future. The team currently sits in 9th place in the Bundesliga standings with three points and a goal difference of 5:6.
Following their Champions League opener, another Bundesliga away game awaits next weekend. VfB Stuttgart travels to face 16th-placed 1899 Hoffenheim on September 12, 2026. This match is part of a demanding period that tests the first-team squad, with five players-Dan Zagadou, Lorenz Assignon, Luca Jaquez, Tiago Tomás, and Dennis Seimen-currently sidelined through injury. Sebastian Hoeneß's team is three points behind leaders FC Augsburg in the table. The upcoming results will show if VfB can maintain the positive momentum from the home win and their European ambitions in the league.
