Cacau sees Stuttgart past Nuremberg

Stuttgart boosted their UEFA Europa League qualification hopes with a 1-0 win over Nuremberg which takes them up to seventh in the Bundesliga table with seven games of the season to go. Germany international Cacau scored the only goal of the game on his return to the Stuttgart starting XI, earning the Swabians three points which take them above Hannover, as well as within a point of Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen in fifth and sixth respectively. Nuremberg will be left wondering how they did not come away with anything after controlling much of the match, but failing to find a goal. Coming into the game, two consecutive defeats had ended Nuremberg's hopes of playing in Europe next season, but Stuttgart still fancied their chances with a four-game unbeaten streak. However, Nuremberg appeared the more confident side in the early exchanges with Adam Hlousek smashing his shot against the crossbar in the seventh minute. Stuttgart did not heed the warning and, just a minute later, Markus Feulner broke through, beating Sven Ulreich with a lob, but Julian Schieber covered for his goalkeeper and cleared the ball off the line. Georg Niedermeier almost scored an own goal in the 32nd minute when he put a Hlousek free-kick behind for a corner, testing the nerves of the home fans who, despite a late reaction from their side, still made their feelings known with whistles at the interval. There was a bit more life in the game in the second half with Stuttgart deciding to make a battle of it, although Nuremberg continued creating, but not taking, chances. They took the lead in the 78th minute when Cacau, in the starting XI due to Vedad Ibisevic's suspension, started and finished a move which involved Tamas Hajnal, slotting past Raphael Schafer from just inside the penalty area. It was enough to earn Stuttgart all three points and extend their unbeaten record to five games, making Bruno Labbadia's side serious candidates for a place in Europe next season.