VfB Stuttgart cruise past Go Ahead Eagles in UEFA Europa League

VfB Stuttgart followed their previous European victory over Feyenoord with another winning display against Dutch opposition, dismantling Go Ahead Eagles in a dominant 4-0 win in the UEFA Europa League.

Go Ahead Eagles 0–4 VfB Stuttgart             
Goals: 0-1 Leweling 20’ (assist: Undav), 0-2 Leweling 35’ (assist: Stiller), 0-3 El Khannouss 59’ (assist: Undav), 0-4 Bouanani 90’+3 (assist: Assignon)

Stuttgart dominated the first half, with the hosts struggling to get close to their slick passing. Having created a couple of half chances early on, they broke the deadlock after 20 minutes through Jamie Leweling, who finished off a lightning-quick passing move involving Maximilian Mittelstädt and Deniz Undav.

That goal afforded Stuttgart some time to breathe having not taken their foot off the gas since the first whistle, during which time the Eagles failed to test them defensively. Leweling then took it upon himself to double his side’s lead, slotting the ball into the bottom corner from outside the area after carrying out a solo counter-attack. 

While the hosts had slightly more of the ball in the second 45, they still were unable to create a clear opening. Bilal El Khannouss then went and put the result beyond them by adding Stuttgart's third. Substitute Badredine Bouanani topped off a comfortable win for Sebastian Hoeneß’s side right at the death, latching onto a brilliant Lorenz Assignon pass before coolly slotting home in additonal time. 

With three league-phase games to go, VfB are among the seeded play-off places, albeit only a point outside the eight automatic qualification berths.

See Stuttgart's Europa League fixtures and results here! 

Recap the win over Go Ahead below...

0 - 4

(0 - 2)

Go Ahead Eagles

FINAL

Stuttgart

Europa League
League phase, Matchday 5 League phase, Matchday 5 De Adelaarshorst Go Ahead, Deventer

Full-time: Go Ahead Eagles 0-4 Stuttgart

Sebastian Hoeneß's side recorded a comfortable win over their Dutch counterparts, being great value for their four-goal victory. They dictated the tempo for almost all the game, with the hosts offering little to nothing going forward.

© IMAGO/Michael Treutner

Full-time

Fantastic four for Stuttgart!

Assignon's ball over the defence lands perfectly in the path of Bouanani, who takes it in his stride before calmly slotting past de Busser.

© IMAGO/Revierfoto

90'

+ 3

Badredine Bouanani

GOAL!

0:4

90'

+ 1

Three added minutes

The conclusion is in sight for Stuttgart.

88'

Substitution

Lazar Jovanović

Jamie Leweling

85'

Yellow card

Badredine Bouanani

85'

Pressure maintained

The hosts continue to swing in crosses, but to little effect.

83'

Yellow card

Aske Adelgaard

80'

Substitution

Aske Adelgaard

Mathis Suray

80'

Substitution

Nikolas Nartey

Angelo Stiller

80'

Substitution

Badredine Bouanani

Deniz Undav

Late flurry

The hosts have had a couple of promising ventures into the Stuttgart final thirds, but without reward so far.

© IMAGO/Box to Box Pictures/Raymond Smit

76'

Close call

A low cross is fired in toward Edvardsen, but he's a couple of yards off the pace.

75'

Yellow card

Atakan Karazor

74'

Yellow card

Angelo Stiller

74'

Yellow card

Victor Edvardsen

73'

Hunting a fourth

Stuttgart continue to apply pressure to the Eagles, with Führich especially looking to stretch his legs against their tired defence.

71'

Substitution

Victor Edvardsen

Calvin Twigt

68'

Substitution

Chris Führich

Bilal El Khannouss

68'

Substitution

Luca Jaquez

Ramon Hendriks

65'

Cruise control

Leweling pokes his finish against the 'keeper in a one-on-one situation, with Stuttgart appearing to have found another gear.

60'

Substitution

Giovanni van Zwam

Julius Dirksen

El Khannouss slams it in, 3-0!

A Leweling cross is chested down by Undav and El Khannouss is ready and waiting to slot it home from close range.

© IMAGO/Ulrich Hufnagel

59'

Bilal El Khannouss

GOAL!

0:3

55'

Visitors pushed back

The hosts are enjoying a spell of possession now, with Stuttgart sitting back within their own half. Sivertsen has impressed since his introduction for the Eagles.

52'

James drags it wide

He has space just inside the area after being found by a Sivertsen cross, but he doesn't connect properly with his first time volley and sees it bounce wide.

49'

Better start

A deflected cross requires Nübel to come out and claim it, with the hosts looking determined to provide more of a test this half.

46'

Substitution

Oskar Sivertsen

Kenzo Goudmijn

46'

Substitution

Evert Linthorst

Yassir Rahmouni

46'

The action returns

The secon 45 is now underway.

Kick-off!

Half-time: Go Ahead Eagles 0-2 Stuttgart

Stuttgart have had almost all of the ball and pretty much all of the chances so far, with the hosts offering little resistance to a dominant away display so far. Leweling has been the star of the show so far with two well taken goals, with the visitors looking in good form going forward.

© IMAGO/Ben Gal

Half-time

44'

Skills show from El Khannouss

The midfield gem embarrasses a couple of defenders with his trickery, showing just how exciting he can be to watch.

40'

Finding their range

The hosts venture forward and the ball falls to Twigt outside the area, but he fires his shot well wide.

37'

Yellow card

Dean James

Leweling makes it two!

He leads a solo counter-attack after a long pass from Stiller, before cutting in field and finding the near bottom corner of the net from outside the area.

© IMAGO/Goal Sports Images

35'

Jamie Leweling

GOAL!

0:2

33'

Tempo dropping

The game has certainly mellowed, with Stuttgart not showing the same urgency on the ball and the Eagles struggling to create.

28'

Showing glimpses

The hosts go from back to front with a neat passing move, showing how effective they can be, but they've so far struggled to maintain possession and build momentum.

24'

Inviting pressure

The Eagles almost repeat their error for the first goal, giving the ball away just a few metres away from their own box. Undav can't punish them this time, however.

Goal! Stuttgart strike first

The hosts gives the ball away trying to play out from the back and Mittelstädt pounces. He finds Undav with a first time pass, who then knocks the ball into Leweling's path with one touch. The speedy winger finds the far bottom corner of the net with his finish, and Stuttgart take a deserved lead.

© IMAGO/Ben Gal

20'

Jamie Leweling

GOAL!

0:1

Regaining control

After a nervy couple of minutes, Stuttgart have regained their composure and are once again searching for the opener.

© IMAGO/Ben Gal

16'

Leweling tests de Busser

He breaks free down the left and drives into the area, before firing his effort too close to the 'keeper who saves from close range.

14'

Momentum switching

The visitors have struggled to keep hold of the ball the past couple of minutes and the Eagles are beginning to ask questions of their backline.

10'

Straightforward save

Stiller finds the head of Undav with a whipped cross but the forward doesn't get enough contact on the ball, and de Busser collects easily.

8'

Leweling looking sharp

He turns his man just inside his own half before making his way into their penalty area, but a loose touch allows the defender to recover.

5'

Finding their feet

The visitors are moving the ball nicely, with Undav almost threading a through ball to Stiller in a great position just moments ago.

3'

Hendriks heads over

El Khannouss fizzes a ball into the box from the right and finds the defender, who can't keep his header down from a central position.

1'

Off we go!

And it's Stuttgart who get the action started.

Kick-off!

Mixed bag

Stuttgart have only ever faced three Dutch sides; Heerenveen, Groningen and of course, Feyenoord. Across their 12 games against these sides, nine of which came against Feyenoord, they've won six, drawn two and lost four times.

© IMAGO/Horst Ettensberger

Intriguing preparations

Both sides conceded three or more goals in the lead up to this fixture, with Stuttgart conceding three in their enthralling encounter with Dortmund, while the hosts conceded four in their loss to Heracles Almelo, who sit second bottom in the Eredivisie. Despite conceding more than they would've liked to against BVB, Stuttgart currently sit in fifth, just three points off second placed RB Leipzig.

More on those teams

For Stuttgart, Karazor and Hendriks are the only two changes from their 3-3 draw with Dortmund, replacing Chema and Tiago Tomás. For the hosts, they make just one change from their previous league game, with Dirksen coming in for Richonell Margaret, who drops out of the squad tonight.

© IMAGO/Markus Verwimp

Go Ahead Eagles starting line-up

de Busser - Deijl (c), Dirksen, Kramer, James - Meulensteen, Twigt, Rahmouni - Goudmijn, Suray, Smit

Go Ahead Eagles subs

Jansen, Plogmann, Verdoni, Adelgaard, van Zwam, Breum, Linthorst, V. Edvardsen, Pettersson, Sivertsen, Stokkers

Stuttgart starting line-up

Nübel - Jeltsch, Chabot, Hendriks - Assignon, Karazor (c), Stiller, Mittelstädt - El Khannouss, Leweling - Undav

Stuttgart subs

Bredlow, Hellstern, Jaquez, Vagnoman, Chema, Führich, Jovanovic, Nartey, Bouanani

Latest VfB team news

The visitors will be without Tiago Tomás for this evening's encounter, the Portuguese forward nursing a muscular injury. Dan-Axel Zagadou picked up a similar complaint in the Swabians' latest training session and has not travelled to the Netherlands.

© IMAGO/Maximilian Koch

Melvin Boel on facing Stuttgart

"We've analysed Stuttgart, of course, and they're a truly fantastic team. Their style of play is a joy to watch; the intensity, the movement, and the individual qualities are incredibly good. We're looking forward to [the game]."

© IMAGO

Sebastian Hoeneß on facing Go Ahead Eagles

"We’re in for a tough match. For Go Ahead Eagles, it’s special to be involved in this competition – and that’s also how they’re approaching it. They play with courage, with heart and have already beaten Aston Villa for example, and won against Feyenoord in the domestic league. The relatively small stadium, which holds around 10,000 fans, has a special atmosphere, too."

© IMAGO/Hansjürgen Britsch

Lively Leweling

Only five players in the Europa League have hit more shots than the 12 of Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling so far.

© Sebastian Widmann/Bundesliga

Go Ahead Eagles: the lowdown

Go Ahead Eagles finished seventh in the Eredivisie and won their first KNVB Cup in 2024/25 to qualify for the Europa League. A 4-2 loss at Heracles was their fifth in 13 league games this term, though, and leaves Melvin Boel's charges down in 12th. In Europe, they're level on six points with Stuttgart following wins over Panathinaikos and Aston Villa and defeats to FCSB and RB Salzburg. Forward Milan Smit is their biggest goal threat, with five league strikes and two in the Europa League so far this season.

© IMAGO/Matrix Images / Marcel ter Bals

Six points from 12

Prior to the November international break, Stuttgart got their Europa League campaign back on track with a 2-0 home win over Feyenoord. Sebastian Hoeneß's team also took three points at home to Celta Vigo on Matchday 1, before losing away games to Basel and Fenerbahçe. Die Schwaben return to continental action 20th out of 36 teams in the league-phase standings and in contention to reach the knockout phase play-offs, if not better.

© Alexander Hassenstein

2:03

Borussia Dortmund 3-3 Stuttgart - highlights

Deniz Undav scored a hat-trick as Stuttgart twice came from behind to draw away to top-four rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. Last season's DFB Cup winners are fifth in the Bundesliga, outside the UEFA Champions League qualification places on goal difference. They've lost just once in the league since mid-September.

Welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of VfB Stuttgart's Europa League encounter away at Go Ahead Eagles on Matchday 5 of the league phase, which kicks off at 9pm CET on Thursday.

About the clubs

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