VfB Stuttgart have found a timely boost from an unexpected source. Ermedin Demirovic, who spent much of the summer battling false reports that the club wanted to sell him, answered his critics in the most emphatic way possible, scoring a hat-trick in just 12 minutes to set Stuttgart on course for a 3-1 Champions League opening win over Viking Stavanger. It was the first hat-trick by a Stuttgart player in European competition, and it arrived at exactly the right moment for a club still finding its footing after a disruptive transfer window.

The summer left real marks on the squad. Chema Andres departed for Brighton in a deal worth up to 23 million euros, Badredine Bouanani joined Rangers on loan, and teenage midfielder Mirza Catovic moved to Barcelona's reserve side. Those exits thinned the options for coach Sebastian Hoeneß, who also stripped Atakan Karazor of the captaincy, handing the armband to Deniz Undav. Undav himself has drawn scrutiny after quiet displays in the opening Bundesliga matches, though Hoeneß has been firm in his public support.

In the league, Stuttgart sit ninth after two rounds, recovering from a 1-5 opening defeat to Bayern Munich with a 4-1 home win over Cologne. The squad carries real depth concerns, but Demirovic's form and the Champions League platform give Hoeneß genuine reasons for optimism. Next up is a Bundesliga trip to Hoffenheim on September 12.