VfB Stuttgart defeated FC Timisoara, score 2-0 (2-0), on Tuesday evening in a game counting for the first leg of the playoffs for the Champions League group stage. Timo Gebhart opened the score in the 28th minute from a penalty kick after goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon faulted Ciprian Marica. Aleksandr Hleb sealed the game in the 30th minute.
The return leg is scheduled on August 26 in Stuttgart. The team that loses the playoffs will play in the Europa League groups. Timisoara will be unable to use Dan Alexa and Artiom Karamian after they were both booked. On the other hand, Alex Bourceanu will be available. Markus Babbel, the head coach of VfB Stuttgart, stated during a press conference after the game that he expects the return leg to be a very difficult game, one that his team has to tackle with maximum focus. ‘We will face 90 very difficult minutes that we have to tackle with maximum focus. We have to play in Stuttgart as we did here in order to qualify. Hleb did his duty very well, he scored an exquisite goal’ the head coach of the German team stated.
Babbel added that he did not notice a particular player from Timisoara, but that the team as a whole is ‘remarkable and has given us a lot of problems.’ In his turn, FC Timisoara’s head coach Ioan Ovidiu Sabau stated that the difference in value between the two teams was obvious and his players played defensively.
previous post
