Zlatko Tripić’s equaliser on Wednesday evening was Viking FK’s first goal in the Champions League proper. It was also, in effect, the peak of their night. Four minutes later Ermedin Demirović restored VfB Stuttgart’s lead. Six minutes after that he had a hat-trick.
Demirović’s three goals arrived in the 20th, 26th and 32nd minutes of the league-phase opener at the MHPArena, the fifth-earliest hat-trick in the competition’s history since 1992. The 28-year-old Bosnia international is also the first VfB Stuttgart player ever to score three in a single Champions League match.
Twelve minutes, three finishes, one dismantling
Sebastian Hoeneß’s side made two changes from their weekend Bundesliga win at Cologne, and both of the new starters shaped the opener. Angelo Stiller slid the ball through for Demirović to convert in the 20th minute. Tripić hit back for Viking two minutes later, guided in by Henrik Bjørdal, and for a stretch the Norwegian side looked capable of an upset.
Deniz Undav then set up the two Demirović finishes that put the tie beyond them, at 26 and 32 minutes as Stuttgart pulled clear. Demirović was withdrawn on 62 minutes with the match ball. Undav struck the crossbar in stoppage time as Stuttgart pushed for a fourth.
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The forward was calm about the record afterwards.
“For me, it was obviously a perfect start. For us as a team, too. We could have played even better,” Demirović told the Bundesliga’s own site.
Viking’s debut, the day Norway buried its king
Viking FK reached the Champions League league phase for the first time by beating Dinamo Zagreb 5-3 on aggregate in the play-off round. Tripić, the club captain, scored the goal that briefly levelled it. He is the first Viking player to score in the Champions League proper.
Kick-off in Stuttgart came the same day Norway held the state funeral of King Harald V at Oslo Cathedral, with foreign royals and heads of state converging on the capital. Harald V died on 28 August at 89 and was succeeded by King Haakon VIII.
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Stuttgart finished with 15 shots and 61 per cent possession against Viking’s seven shots and 39 per cent, per the Bundesliga match report. Passing accuracy: 88 per cent to 73.
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