Badredine Bouanani set VfB Stuttgart on the way to a well-earned win over Celta Vigo in the UEFA Europa League. - © Alex Grimm

bundesliga

Badredine Bouanani off the mark for VfB Stuttgart against Celta Vigo

25.09.2025

Badredine Bouanani scored his first VfB Stuttgart goal as the DFB Cup holders got the better of Spain's Celta Vigo in their 2025/26 UEFA Europa League opener.

VfB Stuttgart 2-1 Celta Vigo
Goals: 1-0 Bouanani 51' (assist: Nübel), 2-0 El Khannouss 68' (assist: Stiller), 2-1 Borga Iglesias 86' (assist: Moriba)

After surviving an early scare when Celta's Iago Aspas failed to make more of Alexander Nübel's misplaced pass, shooting wide of the half-empty net from 30 yards, Stuttgart assumed complete control.

Chema Andrés forced a strong save from Ionuț Radu, but Jamie Leweling could not land the follow-up on target. The Celta goalkeeper also had to be at his best to stop Lorenz Assignon breaking the deadlock with a shot from range.

Stuttgart deservedly forged ahead after the restart when Bouanani collected Nübel's long punt before racing in behind the Vigo defence and chipping the on-rushing Radu from the edge of the area.

Leicester City loanee Bilal El Khannouss added what proved to be the decisive goal with a fine finish from a similar position to double VfB's lead, with ex-Bayer Leverkusen forward Borja Iglesias' late effort to halve the deficit a mere consolation.

Stuttgart visit Switzerland's Basel, who lost to Freiburg on Matchday 1, in their next Europa League fixture on 2 October.

See Stuttgart's Europa League fixtures here

Recap the match action against Celta Vigo below...

2 - 1

(0 - 0)

Stuttgart

FINAL

Vigo

Europa League
League phase, Matchday 1 League phase, Matchday 1 MHPArena

Full-time

Full time: Stuttgart 2-1 Celta

It's the winning start VfB wanted for their Europa League campaign. They were in control for the vast majority of the match and scored two fine goals. A mistake late on from Karazor gave their visitors hope in the closing stages and made the finale more nerve-wracking that it needed to be, but on the whole it was a positive evening for Sebastian Hoeneß's men.

90'

+ 3

Almost an equaliser!

A long ball forward from the Celta goalkeeper catches out the Stuttgart defence, giving on-loan Bayern Munich winger Zaragoza a chance. He pokes the ball past Nübel but the it rolls wide of the post.

90'

+ 1

Added time

We're into the first of four minutes of stoppage time.

88'

Game on!

Karazor wants too long on the ball deep inside his own half and Moriba nips in to snatch possession. Stuttgart's defence is wide open and when the ball is played forward to Iglesias, he rifles it past Nübel.

87'

Borja Iglesias

GOAL!

2:1

83'

Over from Demirović

Stiller delivers a curling, out-swinging corner from the left into the penalty area. He finds the head of Demirović, but the forward is under pressure and his effort goes over.

80'

Substitution

Chris Führich

Badredine Bouanani

80'

Substitution

Josha Vagnoman

Jamie Leweling

78'

Chance for Celta!

Stuttgart ride their luck a bit here. The home side struggle to clear a corner and the ball falls kindly for Rueda around 12 yards out, but his shot is always rising and it goes well over.

73'

Leweling has a go

The winger almost catches everyone out with an opportunistic shot with his left foot, but he drags it just wide.

70'

Substitution

Atakan Karazor

Chema Andrés

70'

Substitution

Tiago Tomás

Bilal El Khannouss

Decisive blow?

El Khannouss takes a short corner from the left to Stiller, who shields the ball from his marker and lays it back to El Khannouss. He cuts inside and places a low shot from the edge of the box into the bottom corner. A lovely goal!

68'

Bilal El Khannouss

GOAL!

2:0

67'

Opening for VfB

Stiller slices open the Celta defence for Mittelstädt to scamper to the byline. His attempted cut-back takes a deflection and bounces across the face of goal, but nobody is there to tuck it away.

64'

Offside call

Celta get forward well again and for a moment it looks like they've got behind Stuttgart's defence, but they're pulled back for offside.

60'

Rare opportunity

All of a sudden, Celta have some space to attack. They work it forward and over to the right for El-Abdelaoui, who shows some nifty footwork as he tries to jink past Hendriks, but the defender snuffs out the danger.

57'

Hosts bossing it

Not content to have the lead, VfB are continuing to push forward as they go in search of a second goal.

Stuttgart lead!

After a Celta attack comes to nothing, Nübel pings a long ball forward into the opposition half. Bouanani sprints behind the defence and gets to the ball before the onrushing goalkeeper, lobbing him from the edge of the area. A brilliant goal!

51'

Badredine Bouanani

GOAL!

1:0

49'

Wayward

Germany international Jamie Leweling has a crack from distance, but doesn't catch it right. He won't want to see the replay of that one.

46'

No changes

Hoeneß has resisted the urge to tinker. Celta are also unchanged.

Kick-off!

Half-time: Stuttgart 0-0 Celta Vigo

No goals at the break, but Sebastian Hoeneß will be the happier of the two head coaches. Stuttgart have been far more purposeful, creating a few decent chances along the way. Will they find a way through in the second 45? Stay tuned...

Half-time

44'

Flag's up

Demirović is flagged for offside after landing a presentable header onto the roof of the net.

42'

Right idea

Stiller tries to beat the Celta defence with a clipped ball into the box for the run of Mittelstädt, but Rodriguez clears it to safety.

39'

Fierce hit!

It's Assignon again who looks like Stuttgart's best bet for a breakthrough He hammers one goalwards from range, forcing Radu into evasive action.

37'

Warning shot

Celta break out with Jutgla, who flashes an effort just past the upright from outside of the Stuttgart area. That was travelling!

35'

Caution

Demirović goes into the book after catching the leg of former Leipzig man Ilaix Moriba.

35'

Yellow card

Ermedin Demirović

30'

No takers

Another Stuttgart corner comes to nothing as El Khannouss lifts a cross into the arms of Radu in the Celta goal.

25'

Injury

Finn Jeltsch's night is up. He landed very awkwardly following a challenge with Ferran Jutgla. Luca Jaquez is on at the back for Stuttgart.

25'

Substitution

Luca Jaquez

Finn Jeltsch

Keenly contested

Real hustle from both sides, but Stuttgart have been the superior of the two so far.

21'

Big claim

Vigo still don't have a grip on Stuttgart's wide players as Radu comes to claim a teasing cross, with plenty of white shirts lurking.

18'

Danger area

Assignon and Chema are full of running up and down the Stuttgart right. If VfB are going to score, it seems like that'll be the source.

13'

All Stuttgart

The home side are bossing the play now. They've got Celta hemmed in their own half...

Close!

Stuttgart come again, using the flanks to great effect. Assignon swings a ball in towards Chema, whose header is beaten away by the goalkeeper. Jamie Leweling attacks the rebound, firing over.

Half chance

Stuttgart attack for the first time and win a corner that's only half cleared. Chema takes it on from 15 yards, but his attempt trickles wide.

Nervy moment

Alex Nübel miscues his attempted kick straight to Celta's Iago. He tries to land the loose ball into the half-open net, but fires over. Relief for VfB's goalkeeper!

Under way!

The ball's rolling at an expectant Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Kick-off!

Kick-off is nigh

The players are ready to rock in Stuttgart. Scotland's Nicholas Walsh is the man in the middle...

Stat attack

Vigo beat Stuttgart in the home leg of their 2000/01 UEFA Cup last-16 tie, but their overall record against teams from Germany favours VfB: W1, D2, L2. Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt are the only other Bundesliga clubs they've faced in UEFA competition.

Strong start

It's early days, but Bundesliga sides are unbeaten in this season's league phase. Bayern and Frankfurt won in the Champions League last week, with Dortmund and Leverkusen drawing their openers, before Freiburg edged Basel in the Europa League last night. Mainz, who lost away but beat Rosenborg at home in the Conference League play-offs, face Omonoia in the competition proper next week.

More on that Stuttgart team

Sebastian Hoeneß makes two changes from his side compared to the 2-0 Matchday 4 victory over St. Pauli last Friday. Hendriks comes in for Chabot at centre-back, while Bouanani replaces Tomás in attack.

Starting line-up: VfB Stuttgart

Alexander Nübel

Ramon Hendriks

Angelo Stiller

Maximilian Mittelstädt

Stuttgart subs

Bredlow, Vagnoman, Tomás,, Führich, Jaquez, Karazor, Zagadou, Chabot, Catovic, Jovanović

Celta starting XI

Rado - Rodríguez, Starfelt, Alonso - Al-Abdellaoui, Moriba, Beltrán, Mingueza - Aspas, Durán, Jutglá

Celta subs

Villar, Iglesias, Fernández, Rodriguez, Zaragoza, Román, Rueda, Swedberg, Sotelo, Álvarez, Dominguez, Lago

Borja banging them in

Borja Iglesias has now scored nine goals in his last 13 La Liga appearances, including a hat-trick in a 4-3 defeat to Barcelona in April last season.

Leweling up

Jamie Leweling has contributed to a goal in each of his last three Bundesliga appearances.

Celta in Stuttgart

The visitors actually have an official peña - a fan club - in Germany, the Peña Celtista Die Himmelblauen. And they and the La Liga club have been "decorating" while getting to know Stuttgart...see above.

Celta struggling

The visitors are now without a victory in their last six league games, their longest winless streak since 2023. Celta have dropped four points from winning positions in La Liga this season - only Atlético de Madrid and Levante have lost more.

Demirović the main man

Ermedin Demirović has scored ten Bundesliga goals in 2025, more than any other Stuttgart player.

0:57

Watch: Hoeneß and Demirović preview Celta Vigo

Claudio Giráldez on facing Stuttgart

"This is a game and a competition we want to enjoy. We're facing a rival who only last season played in the Champions League. The stage is hard to beat for an opener, with 60,000 fans [set to fill the venue]."

Sebastian Hoeneß on facing Celta

“Celta Vigo are tough to play against and tough to beat, as their results so far show. They’re very well organised, like to play football and can defend compactly in different areas of the pitch.”

1:02

Watch: All of Stuttgart's goals this season

Fancy seeing you again

Stuttgart and Vigo have never met before in a competitive fixture, but they did actually play against each other only in August. VfB won that pre-season friendly 2-1 in Reutlingen thanks to a Jamie Leweling strike and an own goal apiece in a match played over four 30-minute quarters.

2:03

Watch: Stuttgart 2-0 Pauli

Karazor to return?

Stuttgart's captain had to make way for young Spaniard Chema Andrés in Friday's win over St. Pauli, with sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth explaining that Karazor (pictured) need to fight his way back into the team. Ermedin Demirović skipped the side and provided a goal and assist. Deniz Undav is still sidelined, while the likes of Ameen Al-Dakhil, Leonidas Stergiou, Pascal Stenzel and Yannik Keitel aren't in Stuttgart's Europa League squad.

Stuttgart probable XI

Nübel - Assignon, Jeltsch, Chabot, Mittelstädt - Chema, Stiller - Tomás, El Khannouss, Leweling - Demirović (c)

Vigo probable XI

Radu - Rodríguez, Dominguez, Alonso - Rueda, Moriba, Sotelo, Mingueza – Aspas (c), Iglesias, Zaragoza

0:30

Watch: Stuttgart's DFB Cup tifo

2:04

Watch: All of Stuttgart's DFB Cup goals in 2024/25

Watch every Stuttgart goal on their road to DFB Cup victory last season, earning their place in Europe again for 2025/26.

Celta back in Europe

This is Celta Vigo's first appearance in the UEFA Europa League since they reached the semi-finals of the tournament in 2016/17. That season, the Sky Blues were knocked out in the last four by eventual winners Manchester United.

Trophy in the bag

Last season's DFB Cup triumph is still being celebrated among fans of Die Schwaben, and rightly so. May's 4-2 victory against Arminia Bielefeld in Berlin helped VfB to a fourth Pokal triumph in the club's history and ensured a spot in this term's Europa League.

Champions League experience

VfB were competing in the UEFA Champions League just last season and games against Real Madrid, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain will have given the hosts plenty of experience as they seek to mount a challenge in this season Europa League.

VfB rocking at home

The hosts were in scintillating form last Friday night when posting a 2-0 win against FC St. Pauli and Spanish outfit Celta will need to be wary of a home attack line that contains an inspired Ermedin Demirović, who captained the Swabians at the MHPArena at the weekend.

Welcome along!

Hello and welcome to our coverage of what promises to be an enthralling UEFA Europa League fixture that sees Bundesliga giants VfB Stuttgart taking on Celta Vigo at the MHPArena!