Ermedin Demirovic leads VfB to victory against Viking Stavanger in the Champions League

Ermedin Demirovic was frenetically celebrated by the fans in front of the Cannstatter Kurve. The outstanding goalscorer accepted the many congratulations with a beaming smile and the trophy for “Man of the match”. When the ambitious VfB Stuttgart won 3-1 (3-1) against Viking Stavanger at the start of the league phase in the Champions League, the 28-year-old was the celebrated hero with his three goals in just twelve minutes.

"For me it was of course a perfect start. For us as a team too. We could have played the game even better. But as a team we can be proud that we clearly beat the opponent," said Demirovic at DAZN. Now “a lot is possible. We have a great team.”

The goalscorer gave VfB the lead in the 20th minute to mark the club's 133rd birthday. Zlatko Tripic equalized for the Norwegian champions two minutes later in front of 60,000 spectators, before Demirovic struck again twice after great assists from Deniz Undav (26th and 32nd).

The 28-year-old, who was wildly celebrated when he was substituted in the 62nd minute, is the first Stuttgart player to score three goals in one game in the most important European club competition.

Two years ago, VfB did not make it past the league phase in the “premier class”. But now it should work. “That must be the goal,” Captain Undav emphasized. Hoeneß also declared before kick-off: “We plan to attack.”

After the 4-1 win in the Bundesliga against 1. FC Köln, the VfB coach changed his team in two positions: Jamie Leweling started for Josha Vagnoman and Demirovic for Dzenan Pejcinovic, which turned out to be a stroke of luck.

VfB defense seems disorganized

At first, however, VfB started nervously and found no gaps in the Viking defense, which was well set up by the coaching duo Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim. Somewhat surprisingly, Stuttgart's lead fell with the first chance: Angelo Stiller crossed, Demirovic quickly finished.

The first joy didn't last long: Tripic successfully completed a counterattack for Stavanger, which is only playing in the Champions League for the second time in the club's history. It wasn't the only time that the VfB defense seemed disorganized in this phase. But VfB immediately increased the pressure and were quickly rewarded thanks to Demirovic. Viking goalkeeper Arild Östbö also helped in the 3-1 victory.

After the change, the Swabians initially had problems despite their lead, but recovered and controlled the game. However, without Demirovic, who Pejcinovic replaced, there was a lack of impact up front. Undav also missed another chance (87th).