Stuttgart rally to beat Union from two goals down

Substitute Nick Woltemade scored a brace and captain Atakan Karazor his first-ever Bundesliga goal as VfB Stuttgart fought from two goals down to win 3-2 at home against Union Berlin.

Union opened the scoring in the 37th minute from Danilho Doekhi's header which went in off the crossbar, with goalkeeper Alexander Nübel beaten.

The visitors then struck again in the 48th when Robert Skov's intended cross fell into the far left corner of the net.

But Woltemade, who came on in the second half, ran past goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow and fired into the roof of the net in the 51st.

He followed that up by taking a through-ball from Karazor to flick the equaliser into the far right corner in the 59th.

Rönnow then gifted Stuttgart the winner 10 minutes later when his bad pass under pressure fell straight to Karazor who converted into the bottom corner for his first goal in 118 top-flight games.

Jordan Siebatcheu almost levelled after coming on when his deflected shot hit the crossbar, but Stuttgart held on for a fourth-straight victory over Union amid eerie silence in the final minutes after a reported medical emergency in the stands.

"It is an amazing feeling to score," Karazor told streaming portal DAZN.

"Nick was brutally important after coming on. He gave us a lot of strength. We are difficult to beat if we play like in the second half, and I hope that gives us motivation for the coming weeks."

Stuttgart rose to sixth while Union remain 11th after a sixth league match without victory.

Matchday 13 continues on Saturday and Sunday, with leaders Bayern Munich hosting Heidenheim, second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt playing Augsburg and third-placed champions Bayer Leverkusen facing St Pauli.