Perfect start in Champions League

Match summary

Sebastian Hoeneß’ side struggled in the early stages against the defensively compact visitors, but were the better team from the 20th minute onwards at the MHP Arena.

Demirovic hat-trick

Ermedin Demirovic in particular was on top form and put VfB in front from close range on the 20-minute mark after being set up by Angelo Stiller. However, just two minutes later, Stuttgart were hit on the counter, with Zlatko Tripic equalising for Viking.

Despite that, VfB continued to dominate and Deniz Undav twice set up his strike partner Demirovic to score further goals in the 26th and 32nd minutes, giving the hosts a deserved 3-1 lead at the interval.

Viking pile pressure, Chance for Undav

The visitors from Norway came out of the dressing room with urgency but Hoeneß’ men withstood their attacking endeavours and had their first chance of the second half through Undav, who fired narrowly over from 16 metres.

The VfB defence were kept busy until full time but continued to have the game under control, and were unfortunate not to add another goal at the end when Undav missed a good opportunity.

Goals

1-0 – 20th minute:Stiller plays a smart pass in the penalty area to Demirovic, who pokes the ball home with the outside of his boot from three metres.

1-1 – 22nd minute: Tripic gets the better of Finn Jeltsch on the counter and finds the bottom right corner with a low strike.

2-1 – 26th minute: Undav perfectly tees up Demirovic in the box, and the striker scores again with a shot into the roof of the net.

3-1 – 32nd minute: Undav again supplies Demirovic, who controls the ball perfectly before completing his hat-trick. 

Reaction:

Head coach Sebastian Hoeneß: “We can be happy about starting the Champions League with a win. We were the favourites but that didn’t make the match any easier. Ultimately, we justified our role and the expectations. We maybe didn’t deliver everything we wanted in every phase of the contest, but we’ve picked up three points and also take away a few aspects that we can execute even better.”

Striker Ermedin Demirovic: “The win is a nice way to kick off the Champions League campaign. We’ve picked up three points and I’m pleased about my three goals. We also know that we can do better in one or two situations and need to tighten up in our defensive transitions. But on the whole, we achieved our objective for this evening with the win.”