Stuttgart's grass greener after last-gasp point
Stuttgart earned the rub of the green on its new pitch as Silas Wamangituka converted a last-gasp penalty to earn a 2-2 draw with Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Sunday (AEDT).
RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann compared Stuttgart's pitch to a potato field after his side's 1-0 away win there a fortnight ago, and Stuttgart reacted by spending €150,000 euros ($242,000) on a new surface, which was laid last Tuesday (AEDT).
Gladbach was 2-1 up deep into stoppage-time on the new turf thanks to a Denis Zakaria goal, which came a Lars Stindl penalty had been cancelled out when Nicolas Gonzalez scored Stuttgart's 3000th Bundesliga goal.
But Wamangituka converted a 96th-minute penalty after VAR (video assistant referee) ruled Stuttgart forward Sasa Kalajdzic was fouled when he backed into Gladbach defender Ramy Bensebaini, earning the hosts a point at the death.