Stuttgart showed remarkable resilience to overturn an early deficit and edge Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 in an absorbing Bundesliga clash, extending their impressive winning run to seven consecutive competitive victories on a Tuesday.
The visitors struck first with barely five minutes on the clock, as Rasmus Kristensen rose highest to glance a corner beyond Alexander Nübel, giving Frankfurt a dream start.
Stuttgart responded with urgency, forcing Arthur Theate into action to clear a dangerous Angelo Stiller free-kick, before Jeff Chabot capitalised on a sloppy pass from Younes Ebnoutalib to relieve the pressure.
Ebnoutalib’s night soon worsened, as he was forced off injured just 20 minutes into only his second appearance for the club.
Frankfurt’s advantage disappeared seven minutes later in calamitous fashion. Goalkeeper Kauã Santos spilled Maximilian Mittelstädt’s cross, and Ermedin Demirović reacted quickest to bundle the ball into the empty net.
Buoyed by the equaliser, Stuttgart pressed on, with Jamie Leweling denied one-on-one by Santos and Chris Führich seeing a shot blocked as the hosts grew in confidence.
The turnaround was completed in the 35th minute when Deniz Undav cleverly spun away from Oscar Højlund and fired goalwards, his effort taking a deflection on its way inside the far post to make it 2-1 at the break.
The intensity barely dipped after the restart. Undav and Ritsu Dōan both tested the defences early in the second half, while chances came thick and fast at both ends approaching the hour mark. Führich and Undav narrowly missed the target for Stuttgart, moments after Ansgar Knauff rattled the crossbar with a fierce strike for Frankfurt.
Further opportunities followed, with Santos racing off his line to deny Undav after a delightful through-ball from Führich, before Chabot headed wide from the resulting corner.
Stuttgart were made to rue those misses when Frankfurt substitute Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyabe, on for his Bundesliga debut, calmly picked out the bottom corner to level the scores.
Just as the match seemed destined for a draw, Nikolas Nartey emerged as the unlikely hero. In the 88th minute, he struck his first-ever Bundesliga goal from close range to restore Stuttgart’s lead.
Nübel then produced a crucial late save to keep out Arnaud Kalimuendo and seal the victory.
The win lifts Stuttgart temporarily into third place, marks their fourth success in five competitive outings, and hands Frankfurt a first defeat in four matches, leaving Dino Toppmöller’s side outside the top six.
