El Khannouss shines as Stuttgart win at Celtic Park
| Brace from Bilal El Khannouss | WM Sport Media/Getty Images |
Bilal El Khannouss scored his first goals since returning from AFCON as Stuttgart beat Celtic away from home in the first leg of the Europa League playoff tie. It was the 1000th game as a coach for Martin O'Neill, who was in his first spell at Celtic when the two clubs met for the first time back in 2003.
The protest by Celtic fans that led to an early interruption played a role in a slow start to the game. However, the cautious approach of the teams changed once the first attempt resulted in the opening goal for the visitors.
Former Premier League players Denis Undav and Bilal El Khannouss combined to put Stuttgart ahead in the 15th minute. The Moroccan international reacted fast, but Kasper Schmeichel should’ve done better in dealing with the attempt that was straight at him.
Five minutes later, Alexander Nübel followed in the footsteps of his counterpart with his uncertain pass to Atakan Karazor leading to the equalizing goal by Benjamin Nygren. Curiously, all three goal-scoring chances were converted in the first-half.
The Leicester City loanee once again beat the goalkeeper who played a great part in the historic Premier League triumph by the Foxes. Angelo Stiller’s deflected cross led to Stuttgart’s second goal as El Khannouss scored his fifth goal of the competition with a free header.
The 21-year-old was criticized by Sebastian Hoeneß after the shocking defeat to St. Pauli, but he was the difference maker in a rare start ahead of the in-form Chris Führich. The hosts started the second-half brightly, but their fans started to leave Celtic Park with Stuttgart’s efficiency continued to be the theme.
Schmeichel was at fault once again when he was beaten by Jamie Leweling from range. Shortly after, Ermedin Demirovic thought he continued his fine form in front of goal with a cheeky finish, but VAR chalked it off for an offside call.
Celtic tried to reduce the deficit, but Nübel was hardly tested besides his first save from Nygren’s speculative effort. At the other end, there were ironic cheers from home fans when Schmeichel made his first save of the game from a weak shot by substitute Tiago Tomás.
Former RB Leipzig fullback Marcelo Saracchi nearly caught Nübel by surprise with an audacious effort, while Stuttgart also had half-chances at the tail end of the match. And Tomás extended Stuttgart's cushion with a brilliant finish in injury-time as Stuttgart all but secured their place in the Round of 16.
The return leg will be played at MHP Arena next week. Stuttgart will have another game on the road before that as they travel to bottom-placed Heidenheim for the closing fixture of matchday 23 in the Bundesliga.
