Grischa Prömel comments on difficult pitch conditions after Stuttgart's Champions League win

VfB Stuttgart midfielder Grischa Prömel admitted that the difficult playing surface caused problems for his side during Wednesday's 3-0 Champions League victory over Slovan Bratislava.

Sebastian Hoeneß's side secured their second consecutive victory in the competition, although the visitors faced some difficult moments after the break before eventually sealing the three points.

Speaking to DAZN after the final whistle, Prömel was asked whether the playing surface had made the encounter particularly challenging.

"Of course, it's not entirely easy, but the opposition are playing on the same pitch," Prömel said, referencing Hoeneß's insistence that the conditions should not be used as an excuse.

"I think you could see that there was simply a lot of sand on it. A lot of players were slipping.

"Nevertheless, we accepted the conditions, worked our way into the game and deserved to win."

Despite Stuttgart's convincing margin of victory, Slovan Bratislava threatened to get themselves back into the contest during the second half.

Prömel acknowledged that the Bundesliga side could have made life easier for themselves by converting more of their opportunities before the interval.

"In the first half, we missed the opportunity to add another goal or two, which meant the game remained open," he explained.

"You could see in one or two situations that the opposition aren't in the Champions League for nothing.

"Credit to the team for defending well despite that and scoring the goals towards the end.

"Two wins from two games in the Champions League is a good thing."

Stuttgart now turn their attention to Saturday's Bundesliga encounter against Hamburger SV, with Prömel highlighting the demanding schedule facing the team.

"Now we're getting into crunch time. We've got a game every three days," he said.

"Hamburg are next in three days, so we really don't have much time."