Ermedin Demirovic's Hat-Trick Leads Stuttgart to Victory

Ermedin Demirovic marked VfB Stuttgart’s 133rd birthday with a ruthless hat-trick as Sebastian Hoeness’ side opened their Champions League league phase with a 3-1 win over Viking FK at the MHP Arena.

The Bosnian striker needed just 20 minutes to light up the night. Stuttgart had started nervously, misplacing passes and allowing Viking to settle, but one sharp move shattered the unease. Angelo Stiller threaded a clever ball into the box, and Demirovic reacted first, stabbing it home to ignite the celebrations.

The lead barely lasted.

Two minutes later, Zlatko Tripic punished Stuttgart on the break, finishing a swift counter to stun the home crowd and drag the Norwegian visitors level. For a brief spell, Viking looked emboldened, snapping into duels and breaking with purpose whenever Stuttgart overcommitted.

That only seemed to sharpen Demirovic’s focus.

The pressure told before the interval as the forward took command of the contest. Linking up with Deniz Undav, he struck again, this time thundering his finish into the roof of the net to restore Stuttgart’s advantage. Viking’s back line, compact early on, suddenly looked stretched and uncertain.

Stuttgart smelled blood. Demirovic obliged.

Still feeding off Undav’s movement and service, he completed his 12-minute treble with the pick of the bunch, displaying immaculate control inside the penalty area before calmly slotting home. Three chances, three goals. The MHP Arena, in anniversary mode, had its hero.

By half-time, Stuttgart were cruising on the scoreboard and playing with a swagger that had been missing in the opening exchanges. Demirovic, speaking afterward, was content to let the numbers do most of the talking, simply underlining his delight at delivering both the points and the goals that had been expected of the Bundesliga side.

Yet neither he nor his coach pretended the performance was flawless.

Viking refused to fold and carved out dangerous moments on the counter in the second half, forcing Stuttgart to sprint back towards their own goal more often than Hoeness would have liked. Those breaks exposed gaps in defensive transitions that both player and head coach admitted must be tightened as the competition wears on.

Demirovic, despite his hat-trick, echoed that message, pointing to “one or two situations” where Stuttgart needed more discipline without the ball. The win, he stressed, ticked the main box for the evening, but it also served as a reminder that sharper opponents will punish any looseness at this level.

Hoeness’ men, though, managed the closing stages with authority. Undav squandered late chances to add extra gloss to the scoreline, but by then Stuttgart were dictating tempo, keeping Viking at arm’s length and calmly seeing out the result in front of a satisfied home crowd.

Three goals from their in-form No. 9, three points on the board, and a statement made on a landmark night for the club. If Demirovic maintains this clinical edge, how far can Stuttgart ride this momentum in a Champions League campaign that is only just beginning?