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Socceroo Gianni Stensness made his UEFA Champions League bow for UCL debutants Viking FK in their 3-1 loss to Stuttgart on matchday one. Viking had reached the Champions League for the first time in their history after the Norwegian outfit overcame Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb in a thrilling play-off tie. ‘DOING THE PLAYERS A DISSERVICE’: The ‘strange’ decisions that played part in Young Socceroos ’embarrassment’ that a ‘common goal’ can fix It brought Stensness to the biggest stage with Viking – who have two head coaches in Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim, and the two-time Australia international was in the starting XI for the opening fixture of the of the league phase on Thursday (AEST). The 27-year-old – the first Aussie to feature in the Champions League proper since Socceroo Milos Degenek in 2023, played the entire match as Viking succumbed to Ermedin Demirovic’s extraordinary hat-trick in Germany. Stensness was the fourth-highest rated Viking player on the field against Stuttgart with a 6.8 rating via Sofascore. He recorded 10 defensive contributions, eight clearances, four recoveries and four duels won, while he had a passing accuracy of 92% in his own half. Unfortunately, Viking had no answer for three-goal hero Demirovic. AUSTRALIA’S U20 ASIAN CUP FAILURE: How did it happen, the impact of A-League clubs refusing to release players & what now? Demirovic scored a hat-trick in the space of 12 first-half minutes to fuel the Bundesliga outfit. His treble inside the opening 32 minutes of the match is the fifth earliest hat-trick in Champions League history, after Robert Lewandowski (23), Marco Simone (24), Kylian Mbappe (29) and Vangelis Pavlidis (30). “I have mixed feelings,” said Viking captain and goalscorer Zlatko Tripic. “It was a difficult away game at a really, really good Stuttgart team. “I think the start was positive, we were brave, but with their first chance they showed that they have quality players.” Stensness’ Viking will meet German juggernaut Bayern Munich on matchday two.