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Ermedin Demirovic · VfB Stuttgart · Atlético Madrid · Champions League

Demirovic is "still boiling" after Hamburg. Stuttgart: 6 from 6 in Europe, 13th in Germany

By the Data Desk · ·

First reported by dpa (via t-online) · 20 OCT 04:44

For two days after Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Hamburg, the city where he was born, Ermedin Demirovic says it "really cooked" inside him: he had missed two big chances. Now the Stuttgart striker calls the loss ticked off "even if it is still boiling in me", and he told the German agency dpa that against Atlético Madrid tonight the team must reach "Champions League level in every respect" or there will be no points.

  • Stuttgart have 6 points from 2 Champions League games, 6 goals for and 1 against, 4th of 36 on goal difference. In the Bundesliga they are 13th: 2 wins, 4 defeats, 8-10, 6 points, one clear of 16th-placed Paderborn.
  • Demirovic has 4 of Stuttgart's 6 European goals: a hat-trick inside 12 minutes in the 3-1 against Viking and a late header in the 3-0 at Slovan Bratislava. His only Bundesliga goal this season came in the 4-1 against Köln.
  • Atlético arrive with six straight wins in all competitions and two goals conceded in that run. They are 2nd in LaLiga on 22 points but 15th in the Champions League on 3, after a 2-1 loss at Liverpool. Kick-off at the MHPArena is 19:00 UTC.
Why it mattersTonight shows which Stuttgart is the real one: the side that has won both European nights, or the one with four league defeats in six. A win puts them on nine points after three of their eight league-phase games.

Demirovic, 28, told dpa he is his own harshest critic and takes games like this home with him. In German, the defeat is "abgehakt, auch wenn es in mir noch brodelt". The Bosnia and Herzegovina international thinks it may even give the squad a different energy. He has watched his hat-trick against Viking several times: "Natürlich gibt das einen Push", of course that gives you a push.

The match log from Hamburg explains the mood. ESPN lists four Demirovic attempts at the Volksparkstadion: headers in the 15th and 53rd minutes that went wide, a header in the 41st that Daniel Heuer Fernandes saved, and a right-foot shot in the 27th, after a through ball from Atakan Karazor, that went just wide. He came off in the 77th minute. Miro Muheim won it for Hamburg from outside the box in the 88th.

The league pattern is narrow defeats and few goals. Three of Stuttgart's four Bundesliga losses were by one goal: 1-2 at Hoffenheim, 0-1 at home to Dortmund and 0-1 in Hamburg; the fourth was a 1-5 at Bayern in August. They have scored twice in their last three league games. In Europe they have scored three in both.

Atlético are the form side: LaLiga wins over Real Madrid (2-1), Alavés and Espanyol, and a 2-0 against Manchester United in Madrid. Diego Simeone will be without Cristian Romero, who strained a muscle at Espanyol, Europa Press and Esto es Atleti report. What happens next: kick-off at 21:00 in Stuttgart and Madrid (19:00 UTC); Stuttgart then host bottom side Mönchengladbach on Friday, and Atlético host Deportivo on Saturday.

Our take

Stuttgart need Demirovic's finishing, not his anger

We think tonight turns on two or three chances, not on motivation. Atlético have let in two goals in six straight wins, so Stuttgart will not get the volume of openings they had in Hamburg, and they need the Demirovic with four goals in two European games, not the one who went 0 from 4 on Saturday. If he scores, 13th place starts to look like a bad month; if he misses again, the Hamburg mood travels into Friday's game with Mönchengladbach, and that is the game Stuttgart cannot afford to lose.

Our Slovan Bratislava v Stuttgart analysis →Our Atlético v Manchester United analysis →Julián Álvarez and his agent →Football news →
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Updates

  1. Update, Tuesday 20 October: Stuttgart 1-1 Atlético Madrid, and Demirović was not part of the main story. He started on the bench and came on for Jamie Leweling in the 72nd minute, without a shot (ESPN). Leweling had put Stuttgart ahead in the 36th minute, driving the ball into the bottom corner from outside the box after Angelo Stiller won it from Marc Pubill; Julián Álvarez equalised in the 47th from Ademola Lookman's low cross. Morten Hjulmand was sent off in the 64th minute for a high, open-soled challenge on Stiller (Bundesliga.com), and Stuttgart, with 18 shots to 10, could not find a winner against ten men. They are unbeaten with seven points from three games, and Demirović's next chance comes against Mönchengladbach on Friday.
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