Sebastian Rudy fires Hoffenheim past Stuttgart

Sebastian Rudy scored a stoppage-time winner as Hoffenheim closed the gap on the Bundesliga's top six with a 2-1 victory over Stuttgart.

Both sides were keen to get onto the front foot in the first half as Hoffenheim forward Kevin Volland fired just over, before Stuttgart went close when Florian Klein sliced wide of the post.

The deadlock was broken in the 30th minute when Roberto Firmino reacted quickest to slot home after David Abraham had seen his effort blocked in a congested box.

Stuttgart managed to survive an extended spell of pressure after the goal and equalised before the break when Gotoku Sakai drilled in a deflected effort for his first Bundesliga goal.

Hoffenheim continued to look the more threatening of the two sides, but they were left frustrated in the second half when Sven Ulreich made two good saves to deny Firmino.

Stuttgart could have snatched the points against the run of play, but Oliver Baumann reacted impressively to make a vital save from Christian Gentner's low strike.

That save would prove to be even more important when Rudy latched onto a pass from Volland to beat Ulreich and secure the win for Hoffenheim.