Stuttgart breath sigh of relief after beating HSV 3-0 in relegation playoff first leg

Three thoughts from the first leg of the DFL Bundesliga relegation playoffs in which Stuttgart is now in the driver's seat thanks to a 3-0 win over HSV.

The first leg of the Bundesliga relegation playoffs is in the books and Stuttgart are in the driver’s seat, beating HSV 3-0 in front of 47,500 visitors at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Konstantinos Mavropanos (1’), Josha Vagnoman (51’) and Serhou Guirassy (54’) were the scorers for Stuttgart in what was a very tense but ultimately one-sided affair in which Hamburg also had Ansii Suhonen sent off (69’).

While Stuttgart can start planning for the Bundesliga, Hamburg will now need a miracle if they want to overcome the deficit in the second leg. Here are three thoughts from the first leg of the relegation playoffs.