Featuring in the UCL for the second time in three seasons, Stuttgart had the pleasure of hosting debutants to the competition, Norwegian champions Viking, and following a slow start, the game burst into life after the 20th minute with four goals scored in a 12-minute period.
First, a neat spell of Stuttgart possession culminated with Angelo Stiller being released inside the box, where his pass into the danger area was turned in off the crossbar by Ermedin Demirovic.
The home side’s lead lasted a little over two minutes, however, as the Norwegian club drew level through Zlatko Tripic, who raced through on goal before driving into the box and firing low past Fabian Bredlow.
With parity restored, Viking boss Morten Jensen would’ve wanted his players to keep things tight for the remainder of the half. Yet, it was the complete opposite as Stuttgart scored twice in six minutes to race into a two-goal advantage courtesy of a Demirovic hat-trick.
His second arrived on 26’ after Deniz Undav played an exquisite defence-splitting pass to send the Bosnian striker through on goal, allowing him to rifle another finish in off the crossbar.
And the two combined once more in the 32nd minute when Demirović did well to control an awkward pass from his teammate before firing a strike too powerful for Arild Ostbo, who got a hand to the ball but couldn’t prevent it from crossing the line.
Armed with a two-goal advantage going into the second half, Die Roten almost netted a fourth within seconds of the restart, only for Jamie Leweling to see his effort blocked when picked out unmarked in the box.
Sebastian Hoeness’ men continued to pour forward against a vulnerable Viking backline as Undav tried to get on the scoresheet, but his lob past the hour mark landed on the roof of the net.
Undav struck the post late on as Stuttgart pushed for another goal to add gloss to the scoreline, but in the end, three goals were enough for the German side to claim victory in the best way possible.
And though this fixture was their easiest on paper, getting the points on the board was the objective tonight. Next up is a trip to Slovan Bratislava, while Viking return to Germany for an even stiffer test – facing six-time winners Bayern Munich.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ermedin Demirovic (VfB Stuttgart)
