Angelo Stiller found Deniz Undav inside the box, and the striker’s left-footed shot found the bottom corner. The 2026/27 season at last had a goal to put next to his name.
Stuttgart went on to beat Slovan Bratislava 3-0 at Tehelné pole on Wednesday, an own goal by Sandro Cruz in the 65th minute and a late Ermedin Demirović finish wrapping up a comfortable away night.
Until that 29th minute Undav had opened the season with blanks across the Bundesliga and the Champions League opener against Viking. He had still contributed, with two assists in that 3-1 win over Viking at the MHPArena on matchday one, but the finish had kept eluding him.
Hoeneß pushes back on the numbers
“Of course it’s liberating,” Undav told reporters after the game.
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“It’s always nice to score after a dry spell of seven or eight games.”
“The win is even more important,” he added.
“I’m a team player more than anything else.”
His head coach has argued that his striker should never be read through the numbers alone.
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“Anyone who starts trying to explain Undav through statistics has already lost, in my view,” Sebastian Hoeneß said, according to Goal.
The numbers still favour him. Per Opta, since the start of last season Undav has produced 12 goal involvements in the main rounds of European competition, four goals and eight assists, more than any other German player.
Hoeneß made five changes from the weekend’s Bundesliga win over Paderborn and still saw his side take control from the first whistle. The Stuttgart coach pointed to difficult pitch conditions at Tehelné pole and was satisfied with how his players handled them.
The maximum start now runs into tougher opposition. Atlético Madrid visit the MHPArena on Tuesday 20 October, with Galatasaray away on 3 November and Inter Milan away on 25 November to follow.
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