Hoeneß left with mixed emotions after frustrating Galatasaray defeat

Stuttgart suffered their first defeat of the Champions League campaign on Tuesday evening, with two goals from Aleksey Batrakov inside the opening 15 minutes proving decisive in a 2-0 victory for Turkish champions Galatasaray. 

However, the visitors were left wondering what might have been, having created plenty of chances throughout the contest.

Jamie Leweling remarkably struck both posts with the same effort before Galatasaray took the lead, while Deniz Undav also hit the woodwork after the interval, and Chris Führich eventually found the net, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside.

Speaking to DAZN after the final whistle, boss Sebastian Hoeneß struggled to hide his frustration at the manner of the defeat.

"I think we had a good chance to take the lead, a very good chance," he explained.

"We'd already had one or two really good breakthroughs down the wing before that. We got into the final third, we looked dangerous. I had the feeling that the game was just starting to swing our way.

"And then, in exactly that phase, looking back, you have to say that's where we lost the game. We conceded two goals.

"It's bitter, so unnecessary."

Despite the early setback, Stuttgart did continue to threaten, particularly during a much-improved second-half performance.

Hoeneß was full of praise for his players' response as a result, but he admitted their failure to find a breakthrough remained difficult to accept.

"In the second half, I can only take my hat off to the performance the boys showed. They left everything out on the pitch.

"Somehow, the ball just wouldn't go in.

“It would have been very interesting to see what would have happened if we'd scored a goal, and there were enough opportunities.”

"It's starting to add up a little. Dženan [Pejčinović] had another chance, Tiago Tomas had another chance. There were other really good opportunities as well.

"But of course, there were also those three or four minutes when we conceded the goals. From my point of view, they were Galatasaray's first shots on goal. I don't think Fabi [Bredlow] had anything to save before that. Both went in, and then it becomes incredibly difficult."

Nevertheless, Hoeneß was determined to recognise the efforts of his squad on their travels to Istanbul.

"I'm proud of the boys for the performance they showed, for the way they delivered what they'd set out to do in this atmosphere.

"On the other hand, when you look at how the game went, it's also very, very frustrating that we've lost."

Stuttgart remain on seven points from their opening four Champions League fixtures, having previously made an encouraging start to the league phase.