BERLIN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Stuttgart returned to winning ways after hammering 10-man Augsburg 4-1, scoring twice in each half of the closer of the 15th round of Bundesliga on Sunday.

From the kick-off, both teams started offensive-minded and tried to disrupt the opponent's build-up play as soon as possible.

However, it was a penalty that opened the scoring as Reece Oxford brought down Stuttgart's Mateo Klimowicz inside the penalty area. Nicolas Gonzalez stepped up and beat Augsburg goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz in the 10th minute.

Augsburg responded with furious attacks but needed a set-piece to get its first chance on target as Daniel Caligiuri rattled the bar with a well-placed free kick in the 14th minute.

Stuttgart, on the other hand, was more efficient and shocked the hosts with the 2-0 lead at the half-hour mark.

The visitors had even the chance to triple their lead but Gikiewicz was on guard and denied Gonzalez with two minutes remaining in the first half.

After the break, Augsburg caught a perfect start into the second half as Ruben Varges had enough space on the left wing and squared to Marco Richter, who made no mistake to halve the deficit from very close range in the 46th minute.

Stuttgart restored its two-goal lead at the hour mark after Gonzalo Castro poked home a cross from Gonzalez at the far post.

Things went from bad to worse for the hosts as Richter saw his second yellow card and received his marching orders on 76 minutes.

Stuttgart showed no mercy and took advantage of its superior numbers as Daniel Didavi made the most of Waldemar Anton's assist to round off the 4-1 victory on the road.

With the victory, Stuttgart climbs to the 10th spot meanwhile Augsburg slump to the 11th position in the Bundesliga standings.

"We tried to attack but we lacked penetration. The dismissal killed the game for us. The defeat is certainly a setback for us," Augsburg head coach Heiko Herrlich said.

"We performed well today. The win is good for us and will bring us back on track after failing to reap points in the last two games," Stuttgart head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo said.

Elsewhere, newly promoted Arminia Bielefeld stunned Hertha Berlin 1-0 and climbed out of the Bundesliga drop zone. Enditem

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