Stuttgart 2-1 Freiburg (AET): Tomas' Extra-Time Winner Sends Defending Champions to DFB-Pokal Final

Tiago Tomas emerged as Stuttgart's hero in extra time, scoring a 119th-minute winner to secure a 2-1 victory over Freiburg and send Sebastian Hoeness' side to consecutive DFB-Pokal finals. The substitute delivered a brilliant flick to decide the match, setting up a final clash with 20-time winners Bayern Munich on May 23.

Freiburg started strongly, with Maximilian Eggestein forcing a sharp save from Alexander Nubel in the 17th minute. The midfielder later opened the scoring after Angelo Stiller's errant backpass gifted Freiburg a corner. Vincenzo Grifo's delivery found Matthias Ginter, whose header was helped over the line by Eggestein.

Stuttgart pushed for an equalizer, with Jamie Leweling firing wide and Deniz Undav seeing a goal-bound shot blocked. Their pressure continued in the second half, but Stiller's close-range effort was saved by Florian Müller. Stiller thought he had leveled in the 60th minute, but his strike was disallowed due to an offside call against Ermedin Demirovic.

Undav finally equalized 10 minutes later, slotting home after being played into the box by substitute Bilal El Khannouss. The forward nearly won the game in regulation but was denied by Müller from close range. Stuttgart came close again in extra time, with Chris Führich hitting the post and El Khannouss thwarted by Müller.

With penalties looming, Tomas sealed the win in dramatic fashion, guiding Badredine Bouanani's cross with a sublime backheel to send Stuttgart to Berlin.

**Data Debrief: Undav Powers Stuttgart's Pursuit of Back-to-Back Titles**

Stuttgart, aiming to become the first team since RB Leipzig (2021-22, 2022-23) to win consecutive DFB-Pokal titles, have now scored in their last 20 cup matches—a club record. Since the start of last season, they have netted 31 goals in 11 cup games, the most of any team in the competition.

Undav has been instrumental, contributing to 37 goals (24 goals, 13 assists) this season. Only Mario Gomez (41 in 2008-09) has recorded more goal involvements in a single campaign for Stuttgart in the detailed data era.

Despite needing extra time, Stuttgart dominated statistically, posting an expected goals (xG) total of 4.24 from 29 shots, compared to Freiburg's 2.45 from 18 attempts. The victory extends Stuttgart's perfect record in their last seven extra-time cup matches.