Stuttgart pulled away from the bottom three on Saturday as a Daniel Schwaab winner handed the hosts a 1-0 victory over Hannover.
Despite heading into the match without a win in any of their opening five Bundesliga fixtures, Stuttgart started confidently by dominating possession in the early stages.
However, clear chances would prove to be a rarity in the first half, with Christian Gentner wasting the best opportunity when his close-range strike was blocked by a combination of two Hannover defenders after he delayed taking the shot.
Timo Werner should have put Stuttgart ahead just after the break when he beat the offside trap set by the Hannover defence, but he could only send a tame effort straight at Ron-Robert Zieler.
After spending long spells of the game on the back foot, Hannover ruined their good work at a corner by gifting space to Schwaab, who took the invitation to tap in the crucial goal with just over 20 minutes remaining.
There proved to be no way back for Hannover after falling behind as they failed to pile on the pressure required to find a late leveller.
Callum Mulvihill
