Overview
- Celtic were beaten 4-1 at Celtic Park on February 19, handing VfB Stuttgart a commanding aggregate lead in the Europa League playoff.
- Bilal El Khannouss scored twice for Stuttgart, with Jamie Leweling and Tiago Tomás adding second‑half goals, while Benjamin Nygren netted for Celtic.
- Mexican right back Julián Araujo started and played the full 90 minutes for Celtic in the first leg.
- The return match is scheduled for February 26 in Germany, where Celtic need a lopsided win to force a turnaround.
- Other Mexican-linked sides also lost their first legs, with PAOK falling 1-2 to Celta de Vigo and Fenerbahçe losing 0-3 to Nottingham Forest as Edson Álvarez was unavailable after an ankle procedure.