VfB Stuttgart retain Bundesliga status at Hamburg's expense

Hamburg 1-3 VfB Stuttgart (agg. 1-6)

Goals: 1-0 Kittel 6' (assist: Dompe), 1-1 Millot 48' (assist: Guirassy), 1-2 Millot 64', 1-3 Silas (90' 7)

Needing to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit, Tim Walter's Hamburg made the perfect start. Shortly after Jean-Luc Dompe had tested Florian Müller with a swerving free-kick, Sonny Kittel smashed in an 18-yard strike off the inside of the far post to send the home fans into raptures. Daniel Heuer Fernandes saved well at his near post as Chris Führich went close to silencing the Volkspark-Stadion from the restart. Serhou Guirassy did just that with a sublime back-heeled finish with 16 minutes on the clock, but the goal was ruled out for offside upon VAR review. Heuer Fernandes almost shot himself in the foot after being caught on the ball in his own box by Enzo Millot, only to recover in time to clear. Guirassy and Robert Glatzel traded well-struck shots from range, while Müller had to be alert to stop a Bakery Jatta header from being turned home from close range late in a frenetic first half.

Hamburg's good work was undone within three minutes of the restart. Guirassy was involved again, collecting the ball in the penalty area before squaring to Millot to squeeze a shot through the legs of Heuer Fernandes. With a 4-1 aggregate lead for comfort, Stuttgart proceeded to sit back and soak up everything HSV threw their way, patiently awaiting any openings on the break. Heuer Fernandes provided one such moment when he miscued an attempted clearance, allowing Millot to complete his brace with a routine finish into the unguarged goal and all but end the tie as a contest. Glatzel, Kittel and Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer were unfortunate not to at least reduce the arrears in the closing stages as Stuttgart - who added a late third on the night through substitute Silas' fine solo effort - celebrated a job well done. As for Port City club Hamburg, they remain anchored in Bundesliga 2 for the sixth season in a row.

Match stats

• Stuttgart have a fourth straight season of Bundesliga football to look forward to.
• Die Schwaben are the first team two win both legs in the promotion/relegation play-off since Wolfsburg did so in 2018 against Holstein Kiel.
• VfB have only lost two of their 12 competitive fixtures since Hoeneß took charge on 3 April. They were bottom of the Bundesliga table when he replaced Bruno Labbadia as head coach.
• All three of Millot's goals this season have come under Hoeneß. The youngest player on the pitch (20), the Frenchman also scored his first Stuttgart brace.
• Hamburg have missed out on promotion via the play-offs for two seasons running. They suffered a 2-1 aggregate loss to Hertha Berlin at the end of 2021/22.
• Only three Bundesliga 2 teams have won promotion via the play-off since it was reinstated 14 years ago: Nuremberg in 2009, Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2013 and Union Berlin in 2019.