Morocco midfielder Bilal El Khannouss scored twice as VfB Stuttgart beat Celtic 4-1 in the first leg of their Europa League play-off in Glasgow.
The 21-year-old struck in the 15th and 28th minutes to give the German side control of the tie at Celtic Park.
Stuttgart now take a three-goal lead into the second leg.
🇩🇪⚽️| 𝐄𝐥 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐬| 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝟏-𝟐 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐭
Two goals for El Khannouss, two goals for Stuttgart
The Bundesliga side retake the lead in Glasgow, with the Leicester loanee having too much free space in the box
[📹: @footballontnt]pic.twitter.com/AmmNmu0IL0
— Football Park Scotland (@FP_Scotland) February 19, 2026
El Khannouss has now scored three goals in this season’s Europa League and has become the club’s youngest player to score twice in a European match since Mario Gomez in 2005.
El Khannouss opened the scoring after a poor clearance fell to him in the box. He then restored Stuttgart’s lead with a header after Celtic had briefly levelled through Benjamin Nygren.
Jamie Leweling made it 3-1 in the 57th minute before substitute Tiago Tomás added a fourth in stoppage time.
Bilal El Khannouss with an early double ✌️#UEL | @VfB pic.twitter.com/ZnEFRx0C4X
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) February 19, 2026
Speaking after the match, El Khannouss said he was pleased with the result but focused on the team’s performance. He said Stuttgart deserved the win and would approach the return leg with confidence.
The result leaves Celtic facing a difficult task to reach the round of 16.
