Stuttgart strike in dying minutes of extra time to down Freiburg and reach DFB-Pokal final

[p]Four yellow cards were dished out in a particularly combative five-minute period early on, in which [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eggestein-maximilian/lbelOv8i/"]Maximilian Eggestein[/a] strongly appealed for a penalty after going down under challenge from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stiller-angelo/0hF2GIXS/"]Angelo Stiller[/a].[/p][p][b]Those protests were swiftly waved away, yet they were quickly forgotten by the away fans, who were soon celebrating a breakthrough when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ginter-matthias/27fpNoQk/"]Matthias Ginter[/a] headed a partially-cleared corner into the six-yard box, where Eggestein pounced to prod past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nubel-alexander/Igk6vzlT/"]Alexander Nübel[/a].[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/vfb-stuttgart/nJQmYp1B/"]Stuttgart[/a] went into HT without so much as a shot on target, but it wasn’t for the want of trying. Just before the break, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/demirovic-ermedin/dIsZ5Eyb/"]Ermedin Demirović[/a] sent a bouncing ball in the box well over the bar.[/p][p]The forward then failed to make solid contact with his attempted flick, shortly before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leweling-jamie/UTtpcjym/"]Jamie Leweling[/a] bent a low effort narrowly wide, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/undav-deniz/tUHAdtMH/"]Deniz Undav[/a] saw a close-range volley blocked in first-half stoppage time.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="c77f5004-594b-4604-9d79-4d87500908c2" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="e2ee368f-9898-49a7-a3cf-d1e9513e9509" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/freiburg/fiEQZ7C7/"]Freiburg[/a] had lost their previous three H2H trips to Stuttgart by an aggregate score of 10-0, but the away side found themselves 45 minutes from just a second-ever DFB-Pokal final as the second period got underway.[/p][p]Die Schwaben searched for a leveller, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fuhrich-chris/bczcNJFB/"]Chris Führich[/a] guided wide when unmarked at the back post, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/muller-florian/fu2K0qhI/"]Florian Müller[/a] made his first save of the game to claw a loose ball away from the goalline, moments before Stiller’s arrowed strike got the better of him, only to be ruled out for an offside in the build-up.[/p][p][b]The drama intensified when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/suzuki-yuito/buidOiX4/"]Yuito Suzuki[/a] was denied by a last-stitch block, resulting in a counter-attack that ended with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/el-khannous-bilal/Ui6gj3Cl/"]Bilal El Khannouss[/a] laying off Undav, who levelled the tie with a precise first-time finish. [/b][/p][p]Armed with the momentum, the hosts almost took the lead when Undav’s deflected low shot was kept out by a combination of Müller and the post.[/p][p]And Müller had to be alert in stoppage time to push away Führich’s curling strike before Undav tested him once more with a rifled effort, ultimately taking the contest to ET for just the second time in Freiburg’s last 13 games in this competition.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/holer-lucas/WrKkMeeL/"]Lucas Höler[/a] had the ball in the back of the net soon after the restart, only to be denied by the referee’s whistle that had sounded moments earlier for a foul.[/p][p]At the other end, Führich’s fierce first-time shot cannoned off the woodwork, before Müller somehow kept out El Khannouss after a neat one-two had afforded the substitute a presentable opening.[/p][p][b]Stuttgart were relentless in their pursuit of a winner, and with penalties looming, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tiago-tomas/WSswmxBa/"]Tiago Tomás[/a] broke Freiburg hearts with a well-timed run and flick to guide in El Khannouss’ low cross.[/b][/p][embed guid="615f0009-b7a9-48f9-9f82-a723877e533d" url="https://x.com/VfB/status/2047428308783001950" social-type="twitter" /][p]The result marks Stuttgart’s 11th successive win in this competition, breaking a club record, and their reward will be a meeting with Bundesliga champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayern-munich/nVp0wiqd/"]Bayern Munich[/a].[/p][p]As for Freiburg, the defeated semi-finalists won’t have a chance to avenge their 2022 final defeat, but they still have a shot at a first-ever major trophy, with a semi-final in the UEFA Europa League still to come.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/undav-deniz/tUHAdtMH/"]Deniz Undav[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/vfb-stuttgart/nJQmYp1B/"]VfB Stuttgart[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/freiburg-fiEQZ7C7/stuttgart-nJQmYp1B/?mid=dAmVwZvJ"]See all the stats from the match here[/a][/b][/p]