BERLIN, March 12 (Xinhua) -- VfB Stuttgart suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Portuguese league leader FC Porto in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday, leaving the German side needing a result away from home to keep its quarterfinal hopes alive.
The hosts started brightly and created the first openings when Bilal El Khannouss raced onto an early through ball, but pushed his touch beyond Diogo Costa before going down. Moments later, Jamie Leweling was played in on the right, but his square pass failed to find a teammate.
Stuttgart continued to press and Ermedin Demirovic tested the Porto defense during an energetic opening spell. Porto initially struggled to threaten, but struck suddenly after 20 minutes. William Gomes clipped a curling effort against the crossbar as a warning of the danger to come.
Seconds later, the visitors punished a Stuttgart turnover in build-up play. Terem Moffi was sent clear on the right and finished past Alexander Nubel to open the scoring. The momentum shifted quickly, and Porto doubled its lead six minutes later when Zaidu Sanusi surged forward and squared for Rodrigo Mora to convert from close range.
Stuttgart responded before halftime as Deniz Undav battled for possession after a blocked attempt and curled a left-footed shot into the far corner. The goal revived the home side, and Demirovic soon forced another save from Costa.
After the interval, Stuttgart pushed again and Angelo Stiller thought he had equalized when he reacted to a rebound from close range. However, the effort was ruled out after a lengthy VAR review for offside in the build-up.
Porto then defended compactly while Stuttgart searched for openings around the area. Pepe came closest to extending the visitors' lead when his curling effort drifted narrowly wide.
The result leaves Stuttgart needing a win in Porto next week to keep its European campaign alive. It is Stuttgart's first appearance in the last 16 of a European competition in 13 years. ■
