Stuttgart beats Heidenheim to climb into Bundesliga top four

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Stuttgart players celebrate Bilal El Khannouss' goal during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Heidenheim at MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday Oct. 5, 2025. (Bernd Weissbrod/dpa via AP)

Hamburger's Rayan Philippe, center, celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between Hamburger SV and FSV Mainz 05 at the Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany, Sunday Oct. 5, 2025. (Marcus Brandt/dpa via AP) — Stuttgart players celebrate Bilal El Khannouss' goal during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Heidenheim at MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday Oct. 5, 2025. (Bernd Weissbrod/dpa via AP)

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11:37 AM on Sunday, October 5

The Associated Press

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Bilal El Khannouss continued his successful start to life on loan at Stuttgart as he scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Heidenheim in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

In driving rain, El Khannouss ran at the Stuttgart defense and dodged two challenges before scoring with a low shot from the edge of the box in the 65th minute.

A third consecutive Bundesliga win lifted Stuttgart to fourth in the league and Heidenheim was left in the relegation zone.

El Khannouss scored for the second time since the Moroccan attacking midfielder joined Stuttgart on loan from Leicester last month.

Beating Heidenheim meant Stuttgart bounced back from a 2-0 loss at Basel in the Europa League on Thursday.

Hamburger SV recorded its biggest margin of victory in a top-division league game for 12 years as Rayan Philippe scored twice in a 4-0 win over Mainz.

Hamburg, which was promoted back to the Bundesliga for this season after being relegated in 2018, was 2-0 up after 10 minutes against a Mainz team lacking first-choice goalkeeper Robin Zentner following his red card against Borussia Dortmund last week.

It's been a tough start to the season for Mainz, which finished sixth last season to qualify for the Conference League but has only four points from six Bundesliga games last season.

Borussia Moenchengladbach stayed winless with a 0-0 draw at home to Freiburg.

Gladbach shored up its defense after conceding six goals against Eintracht Frankfurt last week, and picked up a point to move from last place in the 18-team league to 17th above Heidenheim. Freiburg is eighth. Gladbach is still searching for a new coach after firing Gerardo Seoane last month.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer