Stuttgart win 3-1 to leapfrog Unirea and qualify

* Stuttgart through to knockout phase at Urziceni’s expense

* German side strike three times in first 11 minutes

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STUTTGART, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Three goals in the first 11 minutes helped VfB Stuttgart beat Unirea Urziceni 3-1 in Group G on Wednesday to leapfrog the Romanian champions into the Champions League knockout phase.

Stuttgart took the lead on five minutes when Ciprian Marica headed in from close range. Christian Traesch doubled the lead before Russian international Pavel Pogrebnyak killed the game off with a tight turn and finish after just 11 minutes.

Antonio Semedo pulled a goal back for Unirea immediately after halftime but despite having a number of half decent chances they never looked likely to dominate the game for long enough to mount a comeback.

Stuttgart’s win lifted the German side above Unirea in the Group G table and they join Sevilla in the last 16. Unirea now drop into the Europa League, while Rangers finished bottom of the group.

GROSS START

Marica got Stuttgart’s newly installed manager Christian Gross off to the perfect start when he nodded in a well-weighted cross from the right.

Traesch then broke away in midfield before firing a fine low finish from the edge of the box. Pogrebnyak then put the game out of reach, twisting the defender before poking through Unirea keeper Giedrius Arlauskis’ legs.

“We played well from the first minute,” Gross told broadcaster Sat 1.

Gross was named as the new coach 18 minutes after Stuttgart sacked Markus Babbel on Sunday and, with the club under fire for a dismal Bundesliga season, the 55-year-old Swiss will hope progression in the Champions League can kickstart their season.

“It was only one match,” said Gross. “It wasn’t perfect. The first 11, 12 minutes were spectacular, we were aggressive but then we went a bit quiet. There is still a lot to do.”

The last-16 draw will be made in Nyon, Switzerland on Dec. 18. (Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Sonia Oxley; To comment on this story: sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)