Nikolas Nartey nabbed a late winner and Deniz Undav continued his hot form as Stuttgart beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 at home on Tuesday to climb to third in the Bundesliga.
A dipping header from Rasmus Kristensen gave Frankfurt an early lead but Ermedin Demirovic pounced on a goalkeeping error and Undav's deflected effort helped Stuttgart wrestle back control of the match before halftime.
Bundesliga debutant Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab brought Frankfurt level but Nartey's 87th-minute strike, his first Bundesliga goal, put the hosts back in front.
Das war’s! 3:2!
— VfB Stuttgart 1893 (@VfB) January 13, 2026
Wir schlagen die Eintracht aus Frankfurt zum Hinrunden-Abschluss.
Was für ein Spiel, was für ein Team. Ihr seid so unfassbar stark!#VfB | #VfB1893 | #Bundesliga | #VfBSGE 3:2 (90.) | [Anzeige] Rewe pic.twitter.com/CtuBgz8RNK
The victory took the German Cup holders to third, a point behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who host Werder Bremen later on Tuesday.
Frankfurt have struggled this season after last campaign's third-placed finish, their best result in three decades.
Kristensen connected with a corner to put his side in front after five minutes, but Frankfurt ushered Stuttgart back into the game when goalkeeper Kaua Santos spilt a routine catch, allowing Demirovic to slice home.
Undav put his side in front 10 minutes before the break, wrong-footing the Frankfurt defence and blasting a low shot which took a thick deflection into the bottom corner.
Wille und Wucht made in Cannstatt
— VfB Stuttgart 1893 (@VfB) January 13, 2026
Der VfB liegt gegen Frankfurt zurück – und dreht die Partie noch in Halbzeit eins. Auch nach dem 2:2 antwortet das Team. Die Schlüssel? Offensivwucht, Defensivfokus – und zwei Stürmertore.
Hier geht's zum Spielbericht: https://t.co/tJAtUDJm2h… pic.twitter.com/pYnpgEIoOZ
Undav, who has nine goals and two assists in his past eight league games, forced two desperation saves from Santos and flashed just wide of the post in the second half.
Amaimouni-Echghouyab levelled things up just three minutes after coming on but his effort was bested by another debut goal minutes later, when Nartey tapped in from close range.
Elsewhere, the match between Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen was postponed just two hours before kick-off, the third Bundesliga game cancelled in the space of a week due to wild winter weather across northern Germany.