“We can’t crap our pants,” Deniz Undav had insisted and Stuttgart did not but nor did they win. Because if the German striker was right to say that “if you fear Real Madrid because it’s Real Madrid, you needn’t even fly”, if he had his moment here, heading in the goal that brought promise of a memorable night, and if he and his teammates were far from overawed on their return to this competition 15 years later, actually emerging victorious against the club that consider it their own is another matter.
For much of an enjoyable night of 37 shots and wide open spaces, Stuttgart were as good as their illustrious opponents, perhaps better. They went to the most emblematic arena of all and went behind to Kylian Mbappé’s first European goal for Madrid. But Undav had equalised, they had gone in search of more and they might have got it too. In the end, though, Real Madrid are, well, Real Madrid and so it was that with seven minutes left Antonio Rüdiger’s header from a corner tilted this their way and, with Stuttgart throwing everything at them, teenager Endrick raced free in added time to end it, wrapping up a 3-1 home win.
“To think about winning might seem exaggerated but we will be brave,” Sebastian Hoeness had said, and he was right – on both counts. The game was not even two minutes old when Thibaut Courtois made the first of six saves, blocking’s Jamie Leweling’s shot. That effort was the culmination of a move that began at the feet of the Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nübel, the ball worked from deep inside one area all the way to the other, Madrid cut open on the right; it was also a declaration of intent.
Stuttgart dominated those opening moments; on 10 minutes, the possession stats said 72% in the favour. On 20, it was 70%. It would even out – by the end, the figure was 54% – but at that point Courtois had come to Madrid’s rescue three times already and he would have to do so again. Enzo Millot steered a one on one wide, Leweling was denied, so too Millot, and a superb exchange involving Chris Führich and Undav left Angelo Stiller alone in front of goal, unable to finish a move he had started. Whistles from the stands speaking of Madrid’s frustrations. Except this is kind of what they do, a story told before.
And, as it turned out, the closest that Stuttgart came was as the beast began to to stir, a sprint from Vinícius Júnior, a burst from Mbappé and a Rodrygo run into the area all serving as a warning before, at the other end, Undav’s shot looped up off Aurélien Tchouaméni and hit the bar. Half an hour had gone and fast; this was fun. Open and enjoyable. Madrid then got a penalty, only for it to be ruled out when the referee was called to the VAR screen where, with Jude Bellingham waiting on the spot, he saw that Stiller’s swipe had not actually made contact with Rüdiger.
There was another opening for Millot, Courtois again saving, and Bellingham’s ball which might have set Mbappé away. With that, the first half shot count reached 18 between them and Madrid were definitely in it now, but still there were no goals. It took just 20 seconds of the second half for one to arrive, a neat move from deep releasing Rodrygo up the right. Running free, he laid the ball across for Mbappé to sidefoot into an open net for his 49th Champions League goal, his first with Madrid. It might have been 50 very soon after. This time, Nübel saved.
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Vinícius then struck the bar and it felt like the die was cast. And yet Stuttgart were not prepared to let this simply slip away, convinced of their ability to continue cutting through Madrid. Leweling drew two saves from Courtois in three minutes. Next he dashed free but failed to bend the final pass beyond Rüdiger into the space beyond. Then he had a glorious chance, fed by Atakan Karazor, but saw his shot blocked.
The frustration could be felt but was gone fast. From Fabian Rieder’s corner, the ball reached Leweling at the far post. He controlled on his chest superbly and volleyed back across the six yard box for Undav to head the equaliser. Fortune had favoured the brave, if only for a little while, Rüdiger and Endrick ending their hopes. For Stuttgart it had been certainly worth getting on the flight, their fans singing as the rest of this stadium emptied, having enjoyed their return and proud of players who had never backed down. Some fates though are unavoidable.
