Stuttgart's 3-0 Win in Bratislava Masks a Bundesliga Record That Lags Behind Korkut's 2017/18 Standard

VfB Stuttgart beat Slovan Bratislava 3-0 at the Národný Futbalový Štadión on Wednesday 14 October 2026, making it two wins from two in the Champions League league phase. Deniz Undav opened the scoring in the 29th minute, a Sandro Cruz own goal doubled the lead on 65, and Ermedin Demirović headed a third in the 90th. Josha Vagnoman, named Man of the Match, said Stuttgart "did almost everything really well in all areas." The scoreline and the clean sheet support him.

Yet the result arrives on top of a Bundesliga record that tells a different story. Stuttgart sit tenth with two wins, no draws and three defeats from five league games — 1.2 points per game under Sebastian Hoeneß this season. That is a weaker return than the 2.21 points per game Tayfun Korkut averaged over 14 Bundesliga games in 2017/2018, when Stuttgart lost only once in that window. The comparison is not a demand that Hoeneß replicate Korkut; it is a measure of how far the current side sits from a recent standard of domestic consistency.

The raw data from Bratislava shows a controlled performance rather than a smash-and-grab. Stuttgart held 64 per cent possession, generated 2.19 expected goals to Slovan's 0.78, and recorded eight shots on target to the hosts' one. The big-chance count — seven to one — and corners — eight to one — reinforce the picture of a side creating steadily and limiting the opponent.

Where the match diverges from Stuttgart's earlier season is in the source of the threat. Their open-play expected goals here were 1.11, against an average of 1.77 across their earlier 2026/2027 matches in all competitions. Set-play expected goals were 1.09, against an earlier average of 0.52. In other words, Stuttgart traded some open-play creation for a much larger set-piece contribution. That is not a criticism — set pieces count — but it is a different route to goal than the one they have relied on this season. Whether that shift reflects Slovan's defensive setup, Hoeneß's five changes to the starting eleven, or something more durable is a question the next matches will answer.

Stuttgart's summer business brought in Grischa Prömel, Dženan Pejčinović, Jeremy Arévalo, Bilal El Khannouss and Leo Sauer, while Chema Andrés, Jovan Milošević and Lazar Jovanović departed. That is meaningful turnover in a squad trying to balance domestic and European demands. It would be overreach to say this turnover caused the 2-0-3 league start — five games is too small a sample to call a trend, and the fixture list matters. But it is a reasonable explanatory factor for why the settled balance of Korkut's 2017/2018 side has not yet returned. New players need time; rotations like the five changes Hoeneß made in Bratislava are part of that process.

Stuttgart's Champions League start is perfect, and that matters. But the gap between their European and domestic records is the real story. Vagnoman's satisfaction is justified for one night; the Bundesliga table is the longer test. The next run of fixtures will show whether the Bratislava performance reflects a squad finding its balance or simply a good night against a side coached by Yaya Touré in his first head coaching role. Until then, the 3-0 is a high point, not a restoration.