Berlin, Sep 26 (IANS) VfB Stuttgart began their Europa League campaign with a 2-1 home win over Spain’s Celta Vigo.

The visitors nearly struck early when a misplaced pass from goalkeeper Alexander Nubel gifted Iago Aspas a chance, but the striker volleyed over an empty net in the third minute. Stuttgart then took control, with Chema Andres forcing a save from Ionut Radu and Jamie Leweling missing the rebound, while Lorenz Assignon also tested the keeper from distance.

The breakthrough came shortly after the restart, when a long clearance from Nubel sent Badredine Bouanani clear to chip over the advancing Radu for his first goal in Stuttgart colors.

Stuttgart doubled the lead midway through the half as Bilal El Khannouss finished from the edge of the box after combining with Angelo Stiller from a short corner routine.

Vigo, who rotated heavily from their domestic lineup, rarely threatened but capitalized on a late Stuttgart error when Borja Iglesias scored in the 86th minute to set up a tense finish.

The hosts held firm to take three points from their opening group game.

“We played very well for about 85 minutes. It got a little tense at the end, but overall it was a strong start. We can still improve, especially in front of goal. The main thing is we got the win and can build on it,” Leweling said.

Head coach Sebastian Hoeneb, said, “We’re happy with the win, which I think we fully deserved. We were the better team for 85 minutes, played with high intensity and won a lot of balls. In the second half, we managed to create even more opportunities in dangerous areas and got the two goals. It was very important that we made it 2-0. This is another step in the right direction.”