Six years into his Stuttgart career, Nikolas Nartey finally scored his first goal for the club to seal a thrilling 3-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Tuesday.
The Danish midfielder found space between two defenders to direct Josha Vagnoman's low cross into the net and turned away, shouting in celebration.
Nartey had been with Stuttgart since 2019 but barely played for much of that time. He spent two years on loan before a series of injuries wreaked havoc on his career. He didn't play at all in 2023-24 and had little game time the following year but has become a regular starter this season.
Until Nartey's breakthrough, it had seemed like a first-time scorer of a different sort had salvaged a draw for Frankfurt.
Three minutes into his Bundesliga debut off the bench, new signing Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab made it 2-2 to finish off a rapid team move that began with goalkeeper Kaua Santos and went the length of the field. The 21-year-old forward had never before played above the third tier of German soccer.
Frankfurt took the early lead when Rasmus Kristensen scored in the fifth minute, but goals from Ermedin Demirovic and Deniz Undav put Stuttgart ahead 2-1 by halftime. Both teams had plenty of chances as Santos and Stuttgart's Alexander Nübel made crucial saves.
Stuttgart moves up to third with the win. Frankfurt is seventh, with one win from its last eight games in all competitions.
A day after Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac signaled that challenging Bayern for the title is out of his team's reach, Dortmund cut Bayern's lead to eight points with a straightforward 3-0 win over Werder Bremen.
Defender Nico Schlotterbeck headed second-place Dortmund in front in the 11th before Marcel Sabitzer and Serhou Guirassy scored to make sure of the win.
“That we can't attack Bayern, I think everyone can see that,” Kovac said Monday, adding his aim is a top-four finish.
Unbeaten Bayern, which beat Wolfsburg 8-1 last week, can restore an 11-point lead by beating Cologne on Wednesday.
Mainz beat fellow relegation candidate Heidenheim 2-1 for its first Bundesliga win since September. New Mainz coach Urs Fischer is unbeaten in six Bundesliga and Conference League games since he was hired last month. Mainz moves up from last place in the 18-team league to 16th, dropping Heidenheim to last.
Bayer Leverkusen's game at Hamburger SV was postponed at short notice over concerns around the stadium's roof. It's the third game in the Bundesliga to be called off in recent days following heavy snow in northern Germany.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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