# Stuttgart end Bielefeld’s fairytale run with German Cup final victory

Event date: 2025-05-24

VfB Stuttgart ended Arminia Bielefeld’s remarkable cup run with a 4-2 win in Berlin, lifting the German Cup and denying the third-division side a storybook finish to an unexpected final appearance.

BBC Sport reported that Bielefeld had already made history simply by reaching the final after beating four Bundesliga clubs, including last season’s league and cup winners Bayer Leverkusen. That run had turned them into the competition’s surprise package, but the final itself quickly became a test of whether they could survive Stuttgart’s sharper quality.

Stuttgart settled the game with a decisive burst before halftime. Nick Woltemade scored in the 15th minute, and Enzo Millot and Deniz Undav followed in quick succession to give the top-flight side a commanding advantage. BBC Sport said Stuttgart scored three times in 13 first-half minutes, a stretch that left Bielefeld with a steep climb after the break.

The second half brought more control from Stuttgart and another goal from Millot in the 66th minute. That strike made the margin feel decisive, though Bielefeld refused to disappear completely. They responded in the closing stages with two goals that restored a little drama to the final.

BBC Sport said Julian Kania drove one effort into the roof of the net three minutes before Josha Vagnoman headed into his own goal to make it 4-2. Those late moments gave Bielefeld fans something to cheer, even if the match result was already beyond doubt by then.

The final whistle confirmed Stuttgart’s fourth German Cup title. For Bielefeld, the defeat did not erase the significance of the run that brought them to Berlin. Their place in the final had already marked them out as one of the tournament’s most remarkable stories, and their late goals ensured the game ended with some tension rather than a complete collapse.

The bigger picture, though, belonged to Stuttgart. The match was won by the gap between a Bundesliga side with more attacking options and a lower-league challenger that had expended huge energy just reaching the showpiece. Once Stuttgart established control in the first half, the final tilted their way and never truly swung back.

Bielefeld’s achievement remained notable in defeat. BBC Sport said they became the first third-division side to score in a German Cup final, a small but real sign that their campaign reached beyond merely surviving the occasion. Still, the night belonged to Stuttgart, whose sharp start and second-half patience were enough to see the cup back to the top flight.