Stuttgart Beat Celtic To Secure UEL Playoff First-Leg Victory

 

Stuttgart regained dominance to beat Celtic 4-1 in the UEFA Europa League playoffs, with  Bilai El Khannoussscoring a brace in the first-leg tie. 

Both sides seized moments of defensive flops to score their goals. However, Stuttgart exerted a stronger influence on the game and built up pressure from the right wing, cracking Celtic's defense to retake the lead.

Celtic conceded the first goal as the Germans capitalised on a half-hearted clearance from Schmeichel, resulting in pressure on the defence that led to Bilai El Khannouss scoring the opening goal. The winger doubled the lead by heading home Angelo Stiller's cross after Celtic restored level terms from Benjamin Nygeen. 

As the Germans continued to press, they broke through again on the right wing. Ermedin Demirovic's cross found Jamie Lewelling in front of the box, and on his second touch, he steered a 20-yard shot into the right corner. Shortly after that, Demirovic scored what should have been the fourth, but it was ruled out for offside. 

However, as the game drew to a close in injury time, Stuttgart broke back and sealed the victory with the fourth goal from Tiago Tomas. As pressure builds up in the centre half, Nikolas Nartey capitalised on a loose ball and played him Tomas, who latched onto the box and poked the ball over on-rushing Kasper Schmeichel to land inside the net. 

Martin O'Neill was leading Celtic to his 1,000th match, and that ended with a massive defeat at home. Stuttgart will host Celtic in the second-set tie of the playoff.