1-2 – HSV Women beaten late on by VfB Stuttgart

Following their 1-1 draw with SC Freiburg on the opening weekend, head coach Juan Pablo Cardoso named an unchanged starting XI for the trip to Stuttgart. And his decision paid off almost immediately. In front of 3,370 fans at the GAZi-Stadion, HSV made a flying start and took the lead after just two minutes.

Following a cross from Wrede, Linberg flicked the ball back into Bartz's path with a clever backheel. The midfielder made no mistake, curling a precise effort into the top corner to put the Rothosen 1-0 up.

Buoyed by the early breakthrough, HSV continued to push forward and were awarded a penalty just four minutes later when Karczewska was brought down inside the box. Linberg stepped up but saw her spot-kick come back off the woodwork (7').

The visitors remained on the front foot and came close to adding a second almost immediately, with Brunnthaler seeing her effort tipped over the bar by VfB goalkeeper Giuliani (8').

Stuttgart needed a few minutes to recover from the early setback and HSV's intense pressure, but the hosts soon hit back on the counter. Wichmann finished from close range to level the scores at 1-1 (12').

After a frantic opening quarter of an hour, the game gradually settled down. Around the 20-minute mark, Stuttgart tried to catch HSV out with a rehearsed free-kick routine, but Bartz read the low cross well and cleared behind for a corner.

Ten minutes later, HSV had a free-kick of their own. Following a foul on Krüger, Linberg stood over the ball on the right-hand side and delivered into the box, but nobody was able to get on the end of her cross.

The sides therefore went into the break level at 1-1.

The second half remained an intense and fiercely contested affair. Unlike in the opening 45 minutes, however, both sides struggled to find their rhythm in the final third, with too many small errors disrupting their attacking play and limiting the number of clear-cut chances.

The game finally burst back into life during the final 15 minutes, with Stuttgart particularly keen to maintain their perfect start to life in the Bundesliga. HSV goalkeeper Szemik initially produced two excellent saves to keep out long-range efforts from Stegemann (77') and Achcinska (84').

There was nothing she could do moments later, though, when Stuttgart struck for a third time. Following a corner, Billa found herself unmarked at the far post and headed home from close range to put the hosts 2-1 ahead (84').

HSV almost responded immediately. Morich's long-range effort appeared destined for the bottom-left corner, but Giuliani produced a superb save to claw the ball away.

There was to be no way back for Cardoso's side, as Stuttgart held on for a dramatic late victory. The Swabians have now come from behind to win in both of their opening two Bundesliga fixtures, having also overturned a deficit against Hoffenheim last weekend.

HSV Women will return to action next Saturday with their first home match of the season at Volksparkstadion. RB Leipzig will be the visitors on Matchday 3, with kick-off at 12 noon.