Still goalless in the Bundesliga: how VfB Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav reacts to his personal results slump

The Swabians celebrate a real breakthrough at Bayer Leverkusen with their third win of the season. But the captain’s tally remains at zero.

"I don't care about that at all," Undav told Sky when asked about his eighth goalless game on matchday 8 of the Bundesliga. "First, we have to get out of this phase. When things start going better again, the goals should come too."

By "this phase", the 30-year-old forward meant VfB's worrying league run. With just two wins and five defeats, they arrived in Leverkusen as underdogs, but the visitors' 4-2 victory in a turbulent match felt like a "release" to board member for sport Fabian Wohlgemuth. It came a week after the bitter home defeat to bottom club Borussia Mönchengladbach.

"I'm glad we won. That's the most important thing. I'm proud of the team for the performance we showed. After what we've done so far, that wasn't easy," Undav summed up.

What does Demirovic say about strike partner Deniz Undav?

At the BayArena, his strike partner Ermedin Demirovic stole the show. Stuttgart's top scorer has five league goals and nine in all competitive matches.

"He is so important to us, whether he scores goals or not," the Bosnian said of Undav. "Few people notice the passes he plays. I see few players in the Bundesliga who have such an eye for a team-mate."

Undav did at least register his first league goal contribution at Leverkusen. The Germany international's diagonal pass through the opposition penalty area was one of the match's highlights. It beat Leverkusen goalkeeper Mark Flekken and centre-back Facundo Medina, leaving Demirovic to slot home casually for 4-1 and settle the contest.

VfB host Werder Bremen in their next league match on Saturday. Before that, they travel to Istanbul to face Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday. Undav has one goal and two assists in three Champions League matches so far, from which Stuttgart have taken seven points.