Europa League playoffs
Strong performance at Celtic: Stuttgart has the round of 16 in sight
Updated February 19, 2026 – 11:00 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Thanks to a top performance in Scotland, Stuttgart have the best prospects of progressing to the next round. A double goal scorer in the first half laid the foundation for victory.
VfB Stuttgart has taken a big step towards the Europa League round of 16. Coach Sebastian Hoeneß’s team won the playoff first leg in Glasgow’s legendary Celtic Park, affectionately known as “Paradise” by fans, 4-1 (2-1).
The decisive man for the reigning DFB Cup winners was Bilal El Khannouss, who scored two goals (15th/28th). National player Jamie Leweling (57th) made it 3-1 before joker Tiago Tomas scored the final point in stoppage time (90th+3). Benjamin Nygren had made it 1-1 for Celtic when he benefited from a bad pass from VfB captain Atakan Karazor (21′).
If they progress, the Swabians would face FC Porto or Sporting Braga from Portugal. SC Freiburg, as the second Bundesliga representative, qualified directly for the round of the best 16 in the league phase.