Stuttgart v Celtic: Germans bank on ex-Sporting man for last 16 | OneFootball

On the night of last Thursday, Stuttgart achieved something that hadn't happened since 2013: advancing to the round of 16 of the Europa League. Although they suffered their first home defeat in the competition this season, against Celtic (0-1), the Germans achieved their goal, with the help of Tiago Tomás, formerly of Sporting. The tie concluded with an aggregate score of 4-2 (Stuttgart won in Scotland 4-1 in the first leg).

The game at the Stuttgart Arena started with a goal from the Scots, scored by Luke McCowan, his first in the competition, just 28 seconds in, renewing Celtic's hopes for a comeback that would eventually become epic.

However, even so, Celtic couldn't muster an inspired performance in the first half. In fact, the shot that resulted in the 1-0 was the only one (out of a total of just two) on target against the goal defended by Alexander Nübel, a privileged spectator until halftime.

With Tiago Tomás in attack, the Germans controlled the proceedings, although creating little danger. The former Sporting player almost equalized in the 55th minute, with a curled shot that went wide of the opponent's goal.

Despite the improvements shown by Celtic after the break, Stuttgart ended up creating the best chances in the final half-hour. Remember that the Europa League round of 16 draw takes place today at 12:00 PM (Continental Portugal), where he shone in the first leg.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.