In the Europa League playoffs, VfB Stuttgart won the first leg at Celtic Park 4‑1, securing a strong position for the return match. The Scottish club took an early advantage at home: in the 15th minute, Bilal El Khannouss gave Celtic a 1‑0 lead. Stuttgart dominated large portions of the game but made a costly mistake in the build‑up. In the 21st minute, Benjamin Nygren capitalised on a defensive misunderstanding to level the score at 1‑1. The Stuttgart side answered quickly; El Khannouss headed a second goal just seven minutes later, putting the guests ahead 2‑1. The score remained unchanged until half‑time.
After the break, Celtic increased pressure, but Stuttgart stayed efficient. In the 57th minute, Jamie Leweling extended the advantage with a well‑placed long‑range shot to make it 3‑1. Ermedin Demirović scored a fourth in the 60th minute, but a video‑assisted review negated the goal for a borderline offside. In the final minutes, Tiago Tomas added a decisive fourth goal for Stuttgart in the third minute of stoppage time (90+3), finishing the match at 4‑1.