Arminia 2–4 Stuttgart Player Ratings: Stuttgart Crowned DFB Pokal Champions After a Fantastic Win Over Arminia

One final clash at the DFB Pokal, and the winner takes everything home. Armania take on Stuttgart under an electrifying atmosphere at the Olympiastadion for the mother of all battles that is a result of a wait of 280 days and sixty-two matches. A third division team faces off against a Champions League side. Though Arminia were playing in their third division trade, the fans came in large numbers to support their team and do their part. However, none of the records or stats mattered on the pitch, and it was time for an 11v11 to decide the champions.

The game kicked off, and Stuttgart dominated the initial minutes. However, the opponents remained resilient, and they did their best to defend and attack whenever they found space. Minutes later, Stuttgart made a slight error that could have caused serious trouble. Arminia properly capitalized this mistake and made a beautiful move, which in the very end was missed by Bazee. This alerted Stuttgart, and they went forward with an all-offensive approach, and within 13 minutes, the visitors scored three goals. The Armina defence was so weak that they left a lot of space for the opponents to infiltrate.

Stuttgart kept knocking on the door, and every time Arminia opened the door for them, forgetting the danger if they let them in. The first goal came in the 15th minute from the services of Woltemade. Minutes later, an unselfish pass made by Undav to Millot doubled the delight for his team. Once again, around six minutes later, the assist provider of the second goal, Undav, scored the third goal, sealing the victory in the first half itself. Arminia, by then, were down, and it somehow felt like they were longing to hear the full-time whistle and did not want to face even more humiliation. At halftime, the score was 0-3.

In the second half, Stuttgart scored once again from the services of Millot. But now, Arminia, who had regrouped, played their best to give it all to remember forever, and this strategy laid the basis for two back-to-back goals. One goal came from Kania and the other came in the form of an own goal. From this moment onwards, it was desperate football. Stuttgart were desperate to defend, and Arminia were desperate to attack. The match was then filled with aggressive challenges, but none of them had any results, and at full time the score was 2-4 in favour of Stuttgart, and this crowned them as the DFB Pokal Champions.

Here are the Arminia vs Stuttgart Player Ratings.

Arminia Player Ratings vs Stuttgart

GK - Jonas Thomas Kersken- 6/10

Had a bad day at the office as he had to just stand as a spectator to watch all the goals go past him. In short had to witness the fortress built by them, burnt into ruins. Did not have much of a role to play in all the goals. The keeper tried his best to close down the space and reduce the chance of opponents scoring. But the tricky attackers knew what the keeper was up to and did everything even before the keeper could react.

LB - Louis Oppie - 5/10

He was the source of most of the throw-ins and corners taken by his team. Was active on the left flank, especially in the defensive third. Made some appearances here and there in the attacking third. Though he attempted to make some crosses, none of them reached the man. He was a bit loose in the flanks after a bit, as the attacks from the right flank gave a huge advantage to the attackers.

CB - Maxmilian Großer - 5/10

Terrible in the defence. Failed to properly communicate and coordinate to help his team break the deadlock. Some spaces left by the backline due to this lack of communication led to the opponents scoring. Won a couple of duels the player was involved in, and this was one of the only few positive stats for him this season.

CB - Leon Schneider - 6/10

Made some very important tackles in the initial minutes to stop the opponents from creating problems. He was solid on the right side. While the left centre backs and full backs moved higher up the order, the player remained steady at his position and was consistent in blocking defence. He was booked by the referee, and this, to some extent, restricted his play style.

RB - Felix Hagmann - 6/10

While Leon took charge of the RCB and RB positions, Felix moved a bit up in the order and played the role of an RMF. However, the player did not meet the expectations of the coach in the position he was employed in, and this led to him being subbed off.

DM - Stefano Russo - 5.5/10

Was seen everywhere on the pitch, be it in the flanks, attack, defence, or midfield. Had a good passing accuracy and was able to win multiple duels he was involved in. Was key in making interceptions and clearances. Had an all-around display of action. However, the poor performance of his teammates shadowed his good performance.

LM - Marius Worl - 6/10

Was deployed as a left winger. However, the heat map of the player shows a minimal presence in the left wing. He was seen everywhere, but not when it was required. Had a bad day as his presence in every area did not have any impact as compared to Russo's.

CM - Mael Corboz - 6/10

Was a team player. Moved forward when his team was attacking and retreated when his team needed him. However, again had the problem of a lack of impact as he was only able to win 2 duels out of the 10 he was involved in, and the player lost possession more than a dozen times.

CM - Sam Schreck - 5.5/10

The player was too focused defensively and took responsibility as a left-back. This, however, was not required for the team as the team wanted to attack and score. The inability of the player to attack meant that the player was subbed off.

RW - Noah Joel Bazee- 5.5/10

Missed a sitter from the centre of the box as he overhit an open goal, which hit the woodwork. Could have written his name in the history books, but missed the ultimate opportunity. This somewhat made the player a bit frustrated, and this led to him committing a bad foul, which led to him being booked by the referee. He was seen as almost underconfident after the miss, as he was seen losing possession multiple times. Had he scored that goal, the whole scenario of the match would've been different.

CF - Joel Grodowski - 5.5/10

Broke down from the left side, delivered an accurate ball to Bazee inside the six-yard box, which was ultimately missed. Rather than an attacker, he had a winger role in the match as his presence was more noticeable on the wings. Had minimal contributions and was subbed off early.

Sub - C. Lannert - 6/10

Sub - I. Young - 6/10

Sub - Joel Felix - 6/10

Sub - Julian Kania - 7/10

Scored the consolation goal for his team.

Sub - L. Kunze - 6/10

Manager - Michel Kniat - 6/10

Did his best. Had pretty much nothing much to do. The road to the final was impressive, and the team did their best to continue, which they ultimately felt short of.

Stuttgart Player Ratings vs Arminia

GK - Alexander Nubel - 7/10

He was put to the test by the opponents as they made some good moves from the mistakes of the opponents. Though there was pressure upon him, he had nothing to do as most of the balls were overhit and went above the bar. Apart from that, he had some routine saves and catches. Had some good reflexes in the second half and managed to keep the clean sheet.

CB - Josha Vagnoman - 6/10

Did not have any major role in the match to play as his midfield was so strong that the opponents found it difficult to infiltrate even that. Though his backline was a three-member one, this did not show any trouble throughout the match. Had a bittersweet ending as he scored an own goal to give the opponents a glimmer of hope.

CB - Julian Chabot - 7/10

Had a decent performance. However, while comparing with his fellow teammates, his performance was weak. Had a very bad passing accuracy and was not able to contribute much. Though the opponents did not initiate many attacks, his position was concrete in the defensive half.

CB - Luca Jaquez - 7/10

Had a decent day overall. Not because his performance was bad, but because he did not get many challenges to prove their worth. For a vast majority of the match, the defence stood jobless, and this drastically reduced the contributions of the players. In the second half, he was key in making blocks and clearances.

LM - Maxmilian Mittelstadt - 7/10

He was solid on the left flank. Played a left full-back role and made his presence felt both in the attack and defence. Made some timely interceptions and tackles, along with making some contributions in the attack too.

CM - Angelo Stiller - 7.5/10

Pounced upon a loose ball in the midfield third and made a stunning pass to Woltemade, which went past the opponent defenders. This marked the first goal for his team, registering an assist in his name. Won back the ball from Grosser, made a through ball to Undaev behind the opponent's backline that laid the foundation for the third goal.

CM - Atakan Karazor - 6/10

He was one of the worst performers on his team as he failed to create much of an impact in the midfield. However, his poor performance was compensated for by the top performance of his teammates.

RM - Chris Fuhrich - 7/10

Made some runs from the wings. However, as his team was leading by a strong margin, he did not tend to take risks and played it safe. He was seen taking the ball back to his side to hold possession and properly start the buildup from the back.

AM - Enzo Millot - 8.5/10

Scored the second goal for his team. Though he did not have a very big involvement in the goal, his overlapping run along with Undav anticipating a rebound came in handy as Undav provided a pass to him when he felt that the keeper could potentially close him. Just had to tap in the ball to double the delight for his team.

AM - Deniz Undav - 9/10

Pounced on a very poor error made by the opponents. Drove into the opponent's half unchallenged and was unselfish. Gave a pass to Millot even though he had the option to shoot and could have added his name on the scoresheet. Scored the third goal as he latched onto the through ball provided by Stiller to comfortably score the third goal for his team and seal the win in the first half itself. Scored the fourth goal in the second half by initiating a strong run and taking a curling shot in the bottom corner of the post.

CF - Nick Woltemade - 7/10

Made some attacks initially but fell short of the opponent's defence. Some good moves earned his team a couple of corners, which at the end of the day did not have any result. Had a great presence of mind, and this was evident when he made a run to win the pass made by Stiller. Once he controlled the ball, he proceeded forward and easily scored in the bottom corner, marking the opener.

Sub - R. Hendriks - 6/10

Sub - E. Demirovic - 6/10

Sub - Finn. J - 6/10

Sub - N. Narty - 6/10

Manager - Sebastian Hoeneß - 7/10

Had a clear strategy, stuck to it, and went for an all-out attacking approach. Found the win and earned a spot in international football for the next season.

Sportsdunia's Player of the Match is Deniz Undav.