Thanks to double packers Bilal El Khannouss, Jamie Leweling and Tiago Tomás, VfB Stuttgart has bright prospects of reaching the first European Cup round of 16 in 13 years.
With the deserved 4:1 (2:1) in the emotional away appearance at Scottish champions Celtic Glasgow, the Swabians are in a very good position ahead of the playoff second leg in the Europa League next Thursday.
Undeterred by the extraordinary atmosphere in Celtic Park, the Moroccan Africa Cup runner-up El Khannouss (15th minute/28th), national player Leweling (57th) and Tomás (90th + 3) led the Swabians to success.
With their goals they dampened the mood of the Celtic fans, who were only allowed to celebrate after captain Atakan Karazor’s fatal bad pass (21st) in their own penalty area. Benjamin Nygren scored to make it 1-1.
If they progress, the DFB Cup winners coached by Sebastian Hoeneß 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.
VfB slows down the mood in the stands
Apart from the mistake before the equaliser, the Swabians were convincing and took away the enthusiasm of the Celtic supporters early on. They were not bothered by the unusual adversity that VfB’s first European Cup knockout round game since 2013 was interrupted for a few minutes after just a few seconds.
The reason was not clear on the TV images. As VfB announced, Celtic fans threw tennis balls onto the grass.
When things continued, the fourth-place team in the Bundesliga got the start they had hoped for. The starting point for the 1-0 was a short shot from Celtic keeper Kasper Schmeichel. VfB central defender Finn Jeltsch won the header duel, Deniz Undav set up with a backheel. El Khannouss shot relatively centrally with his left foot and Schmeichel was unable to parry.
VfB efficient after conceding a goal
When Karazor, who was under pressure, made a huge defensive mistake following a pass from keeper Alexander Nübel, Nygren had no problems getting around the VfB goalkeeper and pushing in to equalize.
Video: Big mistake! Celtic hits back against VfB
Without this mistake, the Hoeneß team could have created a comfortable situation before the break, but then they were only narrowly ahead. After a deflected cross from Angelo Stiller, Stuttgart went ahead again with El Khannouss’ successful header.
In doing so, VfB demonstrated the efficiency that had emerged as a weak point in their away appearances in the Europa League in recent months. With both goals, the Celtic defense didn’t make it too difficult for El Khannouss.
The defense chief has to watch the second leg
The 3-1 came at an important time, the traditional Scottish club had just put a little more pressure on VfB. Leweling shot from around 20 meters and the ball bounced up on the grass and over the keeper’s right arm.
Video: Leweling from a distance! VfB makes it 3:1
Ermedin Demirovic and Co. celebrated again a little later, but the supposed double strike didn’t count because it was offside.
However, numerous Celtic fans made their way home early. So they didn’t see Tomás’ goal in stoppage time. In the second leg, VfB will have to do without defense chief Jeff Chabot, who will be missing due to a yellow card suspension.