Stuttgart held on amidst a barrage of Bayer Leverkusen to secure a goalless draw at the BayArena, although the stalemate extended the Swabians’ winless head-to-head run to 14 matches.
The hosts had ground to make up to early pace-setters Bayern and Leipzig and started like a team intent on eating into their deficit.
Bayer’s Jeremie Frimpong had the first big chance, but he was denied by Alexander Nubel after stealing possession from the Stuttgart backline.
That was a sign of things to come throughout the first half, with the Dutchman causing chaos down the right-hand side, even having the ball in the net before seeing his strike ruled out as the ball had gone out of play in the build-up.
Edmond Tapsoba was the next player to try and score the opener for Xabi Alonso’s side, but the defender was denied by the crossbar.
And Stuttgart had Nübel to thank again on the stroke of half-time, as he flew down to his bottom left to prevent a Victor Boniface header from creeping in at the back post.
Stuttgart were non-existent as an attacking threat before the break, failing to register a single shot of any description.
There was no change to the pattern of play after half-time though, with the woodwork once again standing in the hosts’ way as Boniface crashed an effort against the post.
On the hour mark, the visitors finally had their first chance on goal as Deniz Undav was found in the box, but the attacker’s effort went just wide of Lukas Hradecky’s goal.
That chance did little to galvanise the visitors however, and they nearly regretted that missed opportunity when Boniface sprinted through on goal, but Nubel was again equal to his chance as his outstretched leg preserved parity going into the closing stages.
Despite their persistence, Leverkusen couldn’t find any way to break through Nubel, as they face the prospect of ending the weekend seven points behind their title rivals.
The point wasn’t ideal for Stuttgart either, as they remain outside the top-six and with just one win from their last five Bundesliga matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart)
See all the match stats here.
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