Wolfsburg 3 - 1 VfB Stuttgart: Stuttgart suffer relegation as Andre Schurrle scores twice for Wolfsburg

Posted Sunday, May 15, 2016 by PA

Stuttgart were relegated to the second tier of German football for the first time since 1975 after losing 3-1 at Wolfsburg.

Maximilian Arnold and two from Andre Schurrle sealed Stuttgart's fate at the Volkswagen Arena.

Daniel Didavi grabbed a consolation for the visitors but for only the second time in their history they suffered relegation, joining Hannover in dropping out of the Bundesliga.

Wolfsburg, on the other hand, were able to end a disappointing season on a high, even though they miss out on European football next season.

Wolfsburg showed no pity on their visitors and were straight on the attack, even if their coach Dieter Hecking had made a few changes to his standard starting XI, including giving a rare start to Paul Seguin.

They took the lead in the 11th minute when Marcel Schafer's cross from the left wing was met by Arnold, who just had to stick out a leg in front of Mitchell Langerak's goal to divert the ball in.

Stuttgart's relegation was as good as confirmed when Schurrle was put through by Daniel Caligiuri and his shot struck Timo Baumgartl, with Langerak given no chance by the deflection off his defender.

Didavi, who will join Wolfsburg this summer, had Stuttgart's first shot on target in the 38th minute but Koen Casteels turned his effort behind for a corner.

Martin Harnik hit the crossbar in the final minute of the first half, summing up Stuttgart's season with a huge opportunity wasted.

The belief drained out of Stuttgart's players as the minutes passed and Wolfsburg slowly started to ease up.

Didavi kept on trying to find a goal or an assist to end his Stuttgart career with, but he was almost alone in that undertaking as the visiting fans raised their voices in protest at the management of their club.

Didavi got that goal with a direct free-kick in the 77th minute, but his lack of a celebration was shared by most of the Stuttgart fans, who saw no change in their team's destiny.

Substitute Alexandru Maxim brought an excellent save out of Casteels as Stuttgart gambled, but they could not find the goals they needed to stay up and Schurrle added the Wolves' third in injury time.