Both sides came into the game with identical records, having won two and lost two. Those two Stuttgart defeats came on their travels, but they were clearly in the mood to end that run here.
First, Deniz Undav had a half-chance after getting on the end of a cross into the box, but his header was comfortably gathered.
Jamie Leweling was next to have a go for the visitors after he was played through down the left flank, and after he bore down on goal, his effort was saved by the body of Jari De Busser.
Stuttgart continued to dominate proceedings and finally made it count in the 20th minute when a high press forced a turnover, allowing Leweling to collect the ball in the box before poking home for the opener.
The home side struggled to gain a foothold in the contest and conceded again 15 minutes later after they were picked apart on the counter. Leweling was sent racing down the left flank before cutting inside and drilling his shot into the bottom left corner.
The Eagles’ struggles were summarised by the fact that the hosts failed to register a shot on target in the first half.
Their head coach, Melvin Boel, was clearly concerned by his side’s first-half performance as he made a double switch ahead of the restart. Those changes had little effect, however, as Die Schwaben ended the contest and added a third goal just before the hour mark.
The home side enjoyed a neat spell of possession before Leweling’s cross into the box was chested down by Undav, who laid the ball on a plate for Bilal El Khannouss to power home.
After going three goals down, the home side never recovered and didn’t look like scoring, enabling Stuttgart to coast through the final half-hour with ease and add a fourth goal in stoppage time through Badredine Bouanani.
Go Ahead’s struggles will concern Boel, with the manner of the defeat particularly poor. Meanwhile, victory for the German side lifts them up the table to within a point of the top eight.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart)
Click here for more on the match
