VfB Stuttgart rout 1. FC Cologne 4-1 as El Khannouss and Vagnoman shine

VfB Stuttgart put a flat start to the season behind them with a 4-1 win over 1. FC Cologne at the MHPArena on Friday, turning a tight first half into a one-sided second.

Bilal El Khannouss broke the deadlock on 39 minutes, finishing off a Josha Vagnoman assist to make it 1-0 at the break. Stuttgart doubled their lead early in the second half through Grischa Prömel, set up by Maximilian Mittelstädt, and Ermedin Demirović made it 3-0 on 75 minutes without needing an assist.

An own goal, then Vagnoman's turn

Cologne got a goal back on 81 minutes when Stuttgart defender Ramon Hendriks turned a Marius Bülter effort into his own net, but it barely dented the scoreline. Josha Vagnoman, who had set up the opener, scored himself in stoppage time to close it out at 4-1.

Match facts

• 39' — Bilal El Khannouss (VfB Stuttgart), assisted by Josha Vagnoman
• 60' — Grischa Prömel (VfB Stuttgart), assisted by Maximilian Mittelstädt
• 75' — Ermedin Demirović (VfB Stuttgart)
• 81' — Own goal, Ramon Hendriks (VfB Stuttgart)
• 90+1' — Josha Vagnoman (VfB Stuttgart)

Only the xG figures published by bundesliga.com's own match report are included here — other outlets' possession and shot counts did not line up closely enough to print with confidence.

What's next

The win lifts Stuttgart to 9th on 3 points after two matches, level on points with several sides just above and below them in a congested mid-table. Cologne drop to 11th, also on 3 points, after their first defeat of the season. Both sides are back in league action next weekend for matchday 3.

Contrasting form since

Cologne's response to this defeat was mixed. They drew 1-1 at home to Werder Bremen on matchday 3, Linton Maina's early goal cancelled out by a Niclas Füllkrug set-piece strike after Sam Dallinga had missed a penalty that would have put the hosts two goals up. A week later they lost 2-1 away at Hamburger SV, undone despite holding 68% of the possession — Nicolás Capaldo and Yussuf Poulsen scored either side of half-time for Hamburg, and Ragnar Ache's stoppage-time reply came too late to save a point.

Stuttgart's week took a different shape entirely. Five days after beating Cologne, Sebastian Hoeneß's side won 3-1 at home to Viking FK in the Champions League, their first game in the competition's new league phase. The good form did not carry over into the following weekend: Adam Hložek's brace gave TSG Hoffenheim a 2-1 win at the PreZero Arena on matchday 3, Stuttgart's first Bundesliga defeat of the season despite Maximilian Mittelstädt's equaliser in between the two Hložek goals. Matchday 4 brought a second straight league loss, 1-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund through a Maximilian Beier finish, leaving the win over Cologne as Stuttgart's only Bundesliga victory through four rounds.

Where both sides stand after four rounds

Neither club has pulled away from the bottom third of the table since this match. Cologne sit 13th with 4 points from four games (1 win, 1 draw, 2 losses, 6 scored, 9 conceded), while Stuttgart are 15th on 3 points from four (1 win, 0 draws, 3 losses, also 6 scored and 9 conceded) — level on goal difference with Cologne despite the gap in the table. Stuttgart are only one place above the relegation play-off spot held by Hamburger SV in 16th, which underlines how much this 4-1 win over Cologne is still carrying their season: it remains their only league win of the campaign heading into matchday 5.