VfB Stuttgart and a year in fear of relegation. A book title about the VfB year 2022 could be something like this. The only positive thing is that the Swabians managed to stay up in the league and that two clubs, VfL Bochum and Schalke 04, were even worse in the first half of the season. We take a look at the best games that the Stuttgart team played in the 2022 calendar year.

The Stuttgart team had to wait until March 5 before the first competitive win in 2022 was achieved. The Swabians showed a convincing match against foals that were very weak at the time. Although Stuttgart fell 0:2 behind, Endo, Führich and Kalajdzic managed to turn the game around. With 19:8 shots on goal, it can also be said that the victory was absolutely deserved after a good morale performance.

In the enormously important duel in the fight against relegation against Augsburg, VfB fell behind again. It was not until the 79th minute that Marmoush scored the important 2-2 equalizer before Tiago Tomas scored the deserved winner. In addition to the season finale, this was probably the most important victory of the year.

VfB Stuttgart were a little lucky that Bayern were already crowned champions when they had to travel to Munich on Matchday 33. Bayern weren't quite as focused and motivated as you might expect from a Bundesliga team. The Swabians took advantage of this and scored an important point before the final showdown with goals from Tiago Tomas and Sasa Kalajdzic.

VfB Stuttgart had to tremble for relegation until the last second. Actually, everything looked as if the Swabians would have to go into relegation, but Wataru Endo scored the winning goal that was so important for the Stuttgart team in the second minute of added time. Before that, Modeste was able to equalize Kalajdzic's opening goal, which led VfB to a power play in the closing stages.

After all, VfB Stuttgart remained undefeated against FC Bayern in 2022. However, the conditions in September were very different from those in May. FC Bayern was under pressure after two draws against Gladbach and Union Berlin and actually had to deliver. The Munich team did the same at the beginning and took the lead twice, first through Tel and later through Musiala. However, VfB didn't give up and managed to put Bayern under a lot of pressure in the closing stages. As a result, de Ligt conceded an unnecessary penalty and thanked Guirassy to make it 2-2.

VfB Stuttgart recorded their highest Bundesliga win of the year on October 15 against VfL Bochum. The double pack shooter Silas Mvumpa, who was finally able to show his enormous ability again after a long period of suffering, was outstanding in this game. The other hits in the clear home win come from Endo and Ahamada. However, the game was not quite as clear as the result. VfL also had its chances.

It rarely happened that VfB really let it rip in 2022. In the cup against Arminia Bielefeld, however, the Stuttgarters played themselves into a frenzy and, after goals from Stenzel, Endo, Pfeiffer and Mvumpa, were already 4-0 up at half-time. Pfeiffer and Guirassy followed up after the break and completed the clearest VfB competitive win in 2022.

VfB Stuttgart also won the second duel against the Bavarian Swabians in the 2022 calendar year. Although the Swabians fell behind, Guirassy was able to equalize in the 15th minute. It finally lasted until the first minute of added time before Waldemar Anton scored the important 2-1 winner. Before that, the Stuttgart team was clearly superior, with 63 percent possession and 29:11 shots. In no other competitive game in 2022 has VfB given so many shots to the opposing goal.

This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as A year in the relegation battle: The best eight VfB games in 2022.