Stuttgart warm up for Celtic Europa League visit with dramatic late victory amid emotional scenes

Ahead of their game against Martin O’Neill’s side at Celtic Park this week, the German outfit took a 15th-minute lead through Ermedin Demirovic, but looked set to have to settle for a point when Ragnar Ache levelled the scores with just 11 minutes left to play. However, a second goal from Demirovic six minutes from time, followed by Deniz Undav’s injury-time strike, sealed a valuable three points as they kept themselves in touch with the top three in the Bundesliga.

Their fifth win in their last six games in all competitions, the full-time whistle saw Stuttgart striker Tiago Tomas burst into tears following the victory, having made his return to first-team action after a two-month layoff amid the sad passing of his father last month. Set to travel to Glasgow as part of Sebastian Hoeneß’s squad later this week, the Stuttgart manager explained his frontman’s reaction as he praised his side’s character as they went within three points of the top three.

“I think we played very well for 20 or 25 minutes,” said Hoeneß. “I saw a very active style of play. Lots of pressure, lots of active dribbling, and runs in behind from the last line of defence. We had a good start, and then they scored the late goal, and then it became a bit more open.

“We just played too complicated a game, we didn’t look for the simple solutions, and then, of course, we didn’t find them. That’s how the game played out against a Koln team which is always, at least when I see them, difficult to play against. I’ve actually never really seen them truly outmatched, and that’s why it was clear that the 1-0 score line would remain dangerous. We didn’t have enough structure at the back when we conceded the equaliser. I can only congratulate my team for believing in themselves until the very end. In front of a home crowd, that feeling that we can score at any time. We’re happy to have bounced back from last week with a win today.”

Discussing the emotional reaction of Tomas, the 43-year-old head coach addresses Tomas’ return to the team: “The pictures speak for themselves. There’s not much more to say. Tiago is a very special person. He’s been through some tough weeks. It was certainly emotional to be back on the pitch after a long injury. Then emotions just came out. The team also understands that. That’s something personal. But it is very public. It wasn’t an injury or anything. It was something family related and that’s probably why, after such a long time, when he’s back on the pitch, the emotions came up.”

Stuttgart play Celtic in the first leg of the Europa League last 16 play at Celtic Park this week, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm.