Demirovic Fires Stuttgart into Commanding Lead with 12-Minute Treble

Ermedin Demirovic delivered a record-breaking first half for VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday, scoring three times in 12 minutes as the German side took a 3-1 interval lead over Champions League debutants Viking.

Demirovic sets Stuttgart milestone

The Bosnia-Herzegovina forward struck in the 20th, 26th and 32nd minutes to register the first Champions League hat-trick of the season. His treble was also Stuttgart’s first by any player in the competition.

Completed after 31 minutes and 21 seconds, Demirovic’s hat-trick ranks as the fifth fastest in Champions League history. The 28-year-old had previously scored only once in eight appearances in the tournament, meaning his three-goal burst tripled his career total at this level.

• 20th minute: Demirovic opened the scoring for Stuttgart.
• 22nd minute: Viking captain Zlatko Tripić equalised.
• 26th minute: Demirovic restored Stuttgart’s advantage.
• 32nd minute: Demirovic completed his hat-trick for a 3-1 half-time score.

Three finishes, two replies from the crossbar

Demirovic’s first two efforts both struck the underside of the crossbar before crossing the line. For his third, he hit a powerful finish that Viking goalkeeper Arild Ostbo could not keep out despite getting an attempted save to it.

Tripić’s goal briefly brought the Norwegian champions level, but Viking could not contain Demirovic during a decisive spell either side of the half-hour mark.

Champions League context for both clubs

Stuttgart had played in the opening edition of the competition’s single-table league format two years earlier, but finished 26th and missed out on the knockout rounds. Demirovic scored once during that eight-match campaign.

The striker also went without a goal after starting each of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s four matches at the 2026 World Cup, where his national team was eliminated by the United States in the round of 32.

Before Wednesday, Edin Dzeko was the only Bosnian player to have scored a Champions League hat-trick, doing so for Roma in 2018.

Viking’s first main-phase campaign

Viking arrived in the Champions League main phase for the first time in the competition’s 35-season era. The club secured its place after narrowly finishing ahead of Bodo/Glimt to win last season’s Norwegian league title.

That landmark European campaign began with a difficult test in Stuttgart, where Demirovic’s rapid treble put the hosts firmly in control before half-time.