Marica Goes From Hero To Villain For Stuttgart.

The Bundesliga’s Europa League contestants played out some tough fixtures in their respective groups, with a mixed bag of results amongst the sides. The matches for the night were Dortmund away to France’s PSG, Stuttgart away to Spain’s Getafe, and Bayer Leverkusen at home versus Aris Salonika. Here are the results!

Paris Saint-Germain 0 – 0 Borussia Dortmund

A drab draw in Paris leaves Jurgen Klopp’s side on the brink of elimination from the competition, with just five points from their four group matches. With that total, they occupy third place in their group, three points behind second-placed PSG, and four points off of group leaders Sevilla. In contrast, Dortmund occupy first place in the Bundesliga, and are a whole ten points clear of reigning champions Bayern Munich. With Dortmund doing so well in the league, it is imperative to continue that kind of league form for Klopp. Maybe the Europa League just isn’t the first thing on the agenda this season!

Getafe 0 – 3 VfB Stuttgart

Stuttgart’s stellar European form continues here with an emphatic three-nil win over Spanish side Getafe. With the win, Stuttgart continue their 100% record in the group, and have booked their place into the next round of the competition. While the La Liga team are not as strong as they were last season, after losing both Pedro Leon and Roberto Soldado this summer, they are still a formidable side at their home ground. Stuttgart, however, made them look absolutely flat. Ciprian Marica drew first blood after 25 minutes from just outside the box. Timo Gebhart and Martin Harnik condemned the Spanish side to a deserved defeat, but Ciprian Marica stole the headlines after he received a straight red for an awful challenge with ten minutes left to go. If Stuttgart can maintain this kind of form domestically, they’ll be back up the table in no time.

Elsewhere, there was a 1-0 win for Leverkusen over Aris Salonika, which Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes has labelled the worst game of the season!