Miro Muheim's 88th-minute winner gives Hamburger SV a 1-0 win over Stuttgart

Hamburger SV had almost nothing of the ball and still found a way to win. Miro Muheim's finish two minutes from time, set up by substitute Zakaria El Ouahdi, gave the hosts a 1-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart at the Volksparkstadion that their underlying numbers did not suggest was coming.

Stuttgart had 66.1% of the possession and more shots on target, but could not break down a Hamburg side that picked up three late yellow cards defending the lead it eventually found. It is the kind of result newly promoted clubs need — a win manufactured from limited chances rather than dominance.

The goal

• 88' — Miro Muheim (Hamburger SV), assisted by Zakaria El Ouahdi

The breakthrough came from the bench. El Ouahdi had been on the pitch for only a few minutes when he set up Muheim, whose finish settled a game that looked destined for a goalless draw after Stuttgart's Deniz Undav and Ermedin Demirovic had both gone close earlier in the second half without beating Daniel Heuer Fernandes.

Match stats

Line-ups

• Hamburger SV (3-5-2): Daniel Heuer Fernandes — Sebastiaan Bornauw, Warmed Omari, Nicolás Capaldo — Miro Muheim, Martin Adeline, Bilal Nadir, Louis Lemke, David Møller Wolfe — Yussuf Poulsen, Fabio Vieira
• VfB Stuttgart (4-2-3-1): Dennis Seimen — Jeff Chabot, Finn Jeltsch, Ramon Hendriks, Josha Vagnoman — Deniz Undav, Angelo Stiller — Atakan Karazor, Ermedin Demirovic, Jamie Leweling — Bilal El Khannouss

Hamburg needed this more

Hamburg went into the round 12th on 6 points from a 2W-0D-3L start that had produced only five goals and let in 15, including heavy defeats to Mainz (0-5) and RB Leipzig (0-5). A 3-2 away win at Hoffenheim the previous round had shown signs of life, and this result — their third win of the season — keeps that momentum going, even if it came against the run of play.

Stuttgart arrived 11th on 6 points themselves, with a 2W-0D-3L record built on a 2-0 win at Paderborn last time out, but a 1-0 home defeat to Dortmund before that showed the same pattern repeating here: plenty of the ball without the end product to match. The loss is their fourth of the Bundesliga season, against a backdrop of a far more encouraging Champions League campaign where they remain unbeaten in two.

What's next

The win is a rare one for Hamburg against the run of possession this season, and gives them something to carry into the next round. Stuttgart, still searching for the consistency in the league that they have shown in Europe, will look to turn their domestic numbers around quickly.