By OUR CORRESPONDENT at Celtic Park
MARTIN O’NEILL’S European dream turned into a Glasgow nightmare as a clinical VfB Stuttgart dismantled a defensive-shambles Celtic 4-1.
On a night that began with fan protests and tennis balls on the pitch, it ended with the “Green Brigade” voicing their fury as the Hoops were picked apart by the Bundesliga giants.
Two goals from Moroccan starlet Bilal El Khannouss, along with strikes from Jamie Leweling and Tiago Tomás, have left Celtic’s Europa League hopes hanging by a thread.
Schmeichel’s Sorrows
The night was one to forget for veteran keeper Kasper Schmeichel.
After just 15 minutes, his wayward clearance was punished when Deniz Undav flicked the ball to El Khannouss, whose low drive somehow squirmed past the Dane.
Celtic briefly found a lifeline when Benjamin Nygren capitalised on a horror mistake by Stuttgart captain Atakan Karazor to level the scores, rounding Alexander Nübel to slot home. But the parity lasted just seven minutes.
El Khannouss was left unmarked to head home a deflected Angelo Stiller cross, restoring the German lead before the half-hour mark.
German Efficiency
The second half saw no let-up. In the 57th minute, Schmeichel’s night went from bad to worse as Jamie Leweling let fly from 20 yards.
The ball seemed to move through the keeper’s hands, sparking a chorus of boos from the Parkhead faithful.
Stuttgart thought they had a fourth through Ermedin Demirović shortly after, only for VAR to offer the Hoops a temporary reprieve for offside.
However, the sucker punch arrived in stoppage time when substitute Tiago Tomás dinked a cool finish over Schmeichel to complete the rout.
The result leaves Celtic needing a miracle in Germany next week to progress to the Round of 16. For O’Neill, it was a sobering reminder of the gulf in class between the Premiership and the Bundesliga.
MATCH STATS
CELTIC: Schmeichel, Araujo, Scales, McGregor, Nygren (21’)
STUTTGART: Nübel, Stiller, Karazor, El Khannouss (15’, 28’), Leweling (57’), Tomás (90+3’)
REFEREE: A. Taylor (ENG)
