Celtic have a mountain to climb if they are to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League as Stuttgart ran out comfortable 4-1 winners in the first leg of the last 16 playoffs at Parkhead.
After a four-minute delay due to tennis balls being thrown on the pitch in protest at the board, the scoring was opened by Bilal El Khannouss after he capitalised on a poor clearance from Kasper Schmeichel to fire the visitors into the lead after just 15 minutes.
Benjamin Nygren restored parity just six minutes later, as he pounced on a mix up in the Stuttgart defence to round the Alexander Nubel and slide home. The away side were soon back in the ascendancy with the excellent El Khannouss heading home his second of the game from close range on 28 minutes.
Jamie Leweling’s long-range drive on 58 minutes secured a third for the Bundesliga outfit before substitute Tiago Tomas added a deserved fourth in stoppage time.
Just the second defeat of Martin O’Neill’s reign as manager this season, Celtic will look to somehow overturn the deficit when the sides meet for the second leg at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart next Thursday. Kick-off is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. UK time.
Here’s how The Scotsman rated the performance of each player as Celtic lose 4-1 to Stuttgart at Parkhead.
1. Kasper Schmeichel - 3
His list of errors have really wracked up this season, and he was once again culpable for the opening goal, while he didn't cover himself in glory for the third, either. A fine goalkeeper in his day, Kasper is a ghost of his former self. Haunted. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
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2. Julian Araujo - 4
Too many hopeful balls forward that didn't reach their intended target. Had one decent run early in the second-half, but offered little else. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
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3. Auston Trusty - 4
Struggled with the brute force of Ermedin Demirovic and the speed of Stuttgart's forwardline. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
4. Liam Scales - 5
Made a good interception early into the game, but was left flat footed for the second goal and just couldn't handle the superior quality of the visitor's frontline - much like his defensive partner, Auston Trusty. | SNS Group