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.
5. Kieran Tierney - 5
Stuck to his task, but was simply overpowered by a side that had too much quality for Celtic. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
6. Callum McGregor - 5
Ineffective for large spells as the visitors midfielders took control of the game. An off night for the skipper. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
7. Paulo Bernardo - 4
Looked rusty after playing only a bit part role under Martin O'Neill. Battled well but didn't get into the game, and was taken off on the hour mark. | SNS Group
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8. Benjamin Nygren - 7
Showed some aggression in the midfield, and was alert enough to capitalise on Atakan Karazor's mistake to round the goalkeeper and level the scores with his 17th goal of the season. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group