Champions League Qualifying roundup: Bodo/Glimt progress, Viktoria Plzen beat Tiraspol
Zalgiris - Bodo/Glimt 1-1 (1-6)
FK Bodo/Glimt took another step towards their first-ever UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage appearance with a 6-1 aggregate victory over Lithuanian side FK Zalgiris, seeing Glimt cap off a five-game winning run by an aggregate scoreline of 28-2.
The deadlock was broken with just under 10 minutes remaining in the opening half when Zalgiris forward Francis Kyeremeh (25) darted in at the back post to sweep home a deflected ball, setting off rapturous celebrations inside the ground, despite the home side still needing four goals in the second half to save themselves.
Much to the chagrin of the home crowd, Glimt reclaimed their five-goal cushion only five minutes into the second half, thanks to Joel Muvka headed strike at the back post, although the early blow did not quiet the boisterous supporters.
However, it quickly went from bad to worse for Zalgiris as Petar Mamic was shown a straight red card after a VAR review which showed the full back denying the Glimt attacker a goal-scoring opportunity.
Mamic’s dismissal was the final dramatic moment in the tie, as Glimt took their foot off the gas and saw out their big lead, confirming their spot in the UCL playoff round in comfort.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Joel Muvka (Bodo/Glimt)
Apollon Limassol - Maccabi Haifa 2-0 (2-4)
Maccabi Haifa secured their place in the play-off round of the UCL qualifiers, but were made to work for it in Cyprus, as Apollon Limassol won 2-0 on the night with the visitors winning 4-2 on aggregate.
Maccabi Haifa travelled to Cyprus knowing that they had an almost guaranteed spot in the play-off round for the UCL. The Israeli outfit had only suffered two defeats in their last seven games on the road (W4, D1, L2), and conceded more than one goal just once in that stretch.
This didn’t stop Apollon from trying to close the deficit in pursuit of a first ever UCL group stage appearance, and they nearly had an early spark.
Shon Goldberg’s attempted block flicked up and forced Josh Cohen into a fantastic save, preventing an own goal.
Not long after, Dean David nearly gave the Greens the lead, his shot rocketed off the post, before falling to Omer Atzili, who had his shot blocked by the fully extended Aleksandar Jovanovic.
Minutes later, Apollon had their first goal of the tie as forward Hervin Ongenda unleashed a shot from just outside the box, which left Cohen helpless as it hit the post and went in.
Suddenly the unlikely dream was given life as the hosts had their second on the 26th minute, this time from a corner. A loose ball bounced back to Israel Coll, who from the same spot as Ongenda, guided a low shot through a crowded box in off the post.
Apollon spent the rest of the half protecting the lead as Maccabi piled on the pressure, calling Jovanovic into action several times, as well as the defence's offside trap, which saw two goals chalked off for the visitors.
The second half lacked the same level of attacking threat until Frantzdy Pierrot had a golden chance after a bobbling ball was inadvertently sliced across the face of goal, eventually going out for an anticlimactic goal kick.
Despite their best efforts, Apollon couldn’t recover from last week's 4-0 thrashing and will now set their sights on the Europa League group stages.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Aleksandar Jovanovic (Apollon Limassol)
Viktoria Plzen - Sheriff Tiraspol 2-1 (4-2)
Viktoria Plzen extended their unbeaten start to the season to six games, completing a 4-2 aggregate victory over Sheriff Tiraspol to leave them just one round away from their first UCL group stage appearance since the 2018/19 season.
After giving up a lead to lose 2-1 in the first leg, Sheriff knew that a positive start was imperative if they were to mount a fightback in the Czech Republic. However, all the best-laid plans were torn up in the 10th minute when a slick attacking move from Plzen culminated in Tomas Chory teeing up Jan Kliment to sweep home his fourth goal of the season.
A poor first half for Sheriff then nearly turned to pure disaster, after Stefanos Evangelou was penalised for a shirt pull against Chory in the box.
After scoring from the spot in the first leg, Chory took responsibility once again, but he could only fizz the ball wide of Razak Abalora’s goal, allowing Sheriff to stay in the tie by their fingernails.
Returning from the break with a mountain to climb, Sheriff were given a lifeline within two minutes of the restart, when Milan Havel’s clumsy challenge allowed Rasheed Akanbi to halve the deficit from the spot.
Akanbi’s third goal in as many games gave the visitors a foothold in the encounter, and with momentum in their favour, they went in search of a second.
Abou Ouattara went agonisingly close to levelling the tie, but his downward header was smartly turned away by the lightning-quick reactions of Jindrich Stanek. But just when it seemed the visitors were in the ascendancy, Jhon Mosquera took the wind out of Sheriff’s sails, losing his marker to guide a teasing corner-kick into the awaiting net.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jan Kliment (Viktoria Plzen)
Pyunik Yerevan - Crvena Zvezda 0-2 (0-7)
Crvena Zvezda’s quest for an 18th appearance in the UCL proper continued with a 2-0 second leg win against Pyunik Yerevan handing them a 7-0 aggregate victory and a place in the play-off round.
After last week’s one-sided affair in Belgrade, those in attendance knew that the tie was already over, barring a miracle, and the Armenian champions didn’t exactly show any sign of being able to start a comeback in the first half.
Yusuf Otubanjo tried his luck inside the opening five minutes with a shot from 20 yards out that went over the bar, and this was as close as the hosts would come to scoring in the opening 45 minutes.
Crvena Zvezda were not dominant by any means, but they were always able to keep Pyunik Yerevan at arms length before being awarded a penalty with the half hour mark approaching, when Juninho was adjudged to have handled the ball from a corner. After consulting VAR, referee Willie Collum awarded a penalty.
However, Stanislav Buchnev was equal to Aleksandar Katai’s spot kick, diving to his left to push the ball behind.
The visitors were awarded a second penalty just before half time when Artur Avagyan wrestled Sekou Sanogo to the ground as the pair tussled inside the area. Spot kick duties were shifted to Guelor Kanga, and he made no mistake to put his team 1-0 ahead on the night.
Yegishe Melikyan will have hoped for a response of sorts from his side in the second half, but things got even worse for the Akademiya on the hour mark as Marko Gobeljic’s cross to the far post was headed in by Milan Pavkov for his 50th goal for The Red-Whites.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Milan Pavkov (Crvena Zvezda)
FC Midtjylland - Benfica 1-3 (2-7)
Benfica qualified for the final play-off round with an emphatic 7-2 aggregate win over FC Midtjylland. A 3-1 victory at Cepheus Park means the Portuguese giants remain unbeaten against Danish opposition in 16 games.
A first leg 4-1 defeat at the Estádio da Luz meant Midtjylland required three goals without reply to take the game into extra time, a feat they hadn’t achieved in Europe since 2020.
But, just as the Danes started to claim a foothold 20 minutes in, the visitors popped up with the first real chance of the match via Goncalo Ramos’ header that squirmed past the left post.
They didn’t have to wait long for another, as minutes later, Enzo Fernandez drifted into the box following a slick team play and directed the ball into the back of the net with a deft finish.
Roger Schmidt’s side all but killed Midtjylland’s hopes of a comeback with a second goal 10 minutes after the restart.
Joao Mario’s inch-perfect cross from the left flank fell perfectly into the path of Henrique Araujo, who rose high above the opposition’s defense and dispatched his header into the bottom corner to double his side’s lead.
Not bowing down, Midtjylland mustered momentum and halved Benfica’s lead with a fine finish via Pione Sisto.
Substitute Diogo Goncalves scored a stunning long-range curler right at the death to cap the evening off in style before the hosts had one of their own ruled out by VAR.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Enzo Fernandez (Benfica)
Dinamo Zagreb - Ludogorets 4-2 (6-3)
Dinamo Zagreb took one step closer to the UCL group stages, after defeating Ludogorets 4-2 (6-3 on aggregate) to progress to the final round of qualification.
Despite knowing a draw would be enough to qualify for a sixth appearance in the UCL group stages in 12 years, the hosts found themselves ahead in the tie shortly after the 10th-minute mark. Josip Drmic made the most of being left unmarked at the back-post, sending a towering header past Simon Sluga, to give his side a two-goal advantage after only 12 minutes.
The visitors’ uphill task was made tougher only five minutes later, when Dominik Yankov was sent-off, after picking up his first bookable offence only seven minutes earlier. With added advantage in the contest, Zagreb made their numerical superiority pay dividends in the 26th minute, when Anton Nedyalkov brought down Dario Spikic, with Mislav Orsic subsequently stepping up to fire it home.
Ludogorets' misery was further compounded on the brink of half time, when Orsic fired an exquisite strike into the bottom right-hand corner. But, Kiril Despodov fired a crisp strike past Dominik Livakovic in in the fourth minute of injury time to set-up an intriguing second-half.
The contest sparked into life in the 49th minute when Despedov converted from the spot, after referee Benoît Bastien had been instructed by VAR to award a penalty for handball. However, Ludogorets’ comeback was all but ended in the 72nd minute when Rick was sent-off, leaving the visitors to play the final minutes with only nine men.
Unbelievably, Ludogorets were then reduced to eight men in the dying embers as Zan Karnicnik saw red after conceding a penalty. Substitute Bruno Petkovic stepped up to bring an end to the goalscoring on an unforgettable evening for the visitors in Croatia, which gifted a ruthless Dinamo outfit a place in the UCL play-off round.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mislav Orsic (Dinamo Zagreb)
Ferencvaros - Qarabag 1-3 (2-4)
The play-off round awaits Qarabag after a 3-1 win on the night secured a 4-2 aggregate victory over Ferencváros, edging the Horsemen closer to a first UCL group stage appearance since 2017/18.
The visitors started positively and were gifted the lead, courtesy of a loose Eldar Civic backpass which was pounced upon by Abdellah Zoubir, who made no mistake in firing home.
Unwilling to lie down and accept their fate, Ferencvaros came tantalisingly close to an instant response through Franck Boli, but his deflected effort was clawed off the line. Tokmac Nguen then spurned arguably Ferencvaros’ best chance of the half.
Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev’s heroics on those two saves then proved to be worth their weight in gold when Kady’s teasing delivery was touched home by Ibrahima Wadji, doubling Qarabag’s advantage in the 54th minute.
With a two goal deficit to overturn, many expected Ferencvaros to be doing most of the running, but it was in fact Qarabag who found the game’s third goal through Wadji, who doubled his tally for the night and effectively placed the tie beyond the reach of Ferencvaros.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ibrahima Wadji (Qarabag)
Rangers - Royale Union SG 3-0 (3-2)
Rangers’ dreams of a first group stage appearance since 2010 are very much alive after a dramatic 3-0 victory over Royale Union Saint-Gilloise at Ibrox, overturning last week’s 2-0 defeat in the process.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side appeared capable of the comeback early on, with chances falling for Malik Tillman, John Lundstram and Antonio Colak.
Union looked vulnerable from set-pieces, as Anthony Moris pushed over Colak’s header from Tom Lawrence’s enticing free-kick.
However, it was James Tavernier who broke the deadlock, netting confidently from the penalty spot after Siebe Van der Heyden handled Borna Barisic’s cross in the box to give his side a deserved lead.
The stadium was bouncing just two minutes shy of the hour mark when Union’s two-goal aggregate lead was wiped out courtesy of Colak. The Croatian reacted quickest on the rebound to nod the ball past Moris after the Union shot-stopper parried Scott Arfield’s initial shot into his path.
Hearts were in mouths for the hosts when referee Tasos Sidiropoulos brandished a second yellow card for James Sands after his perfectly-timed challenge on Dante Vanzeir.
The referee seemingly forgot he had already booked the American, but fortunately, the linesman intervened to help Sidiropoulos correct his previous decision in a bizarre turn of events. That was all forgotten a few minutes later when Tilman sent the Teddy Bears faithful into raptures, beating Moris in the air to head home Barisic’s delivery.
Flashscore Man of the Match: James Tavernier (Rangers)
Sturm Graz - Dynamo Kyiv 1-2 (1-3) AET
Dynamo Kyiv needed 120 minutes, but extra-time strikes from Kostiantyn Vivcharenko and Viktor Tsygankov sent the Ukrainian side to the play-off round, where they will face off against Benfica.
Stefan Hierlander came close to breaking the deadlock for Sturm Graz from the edge of the box but Georgi Bushchan denied him, though the goalkeeper could not do anything a few minutes later when Rasmus Hojlund found the back of the net with a composed finish.
The visitors attempted to even things up and came close to accomplishing that through a close-range header from Vitaly Buyalskyi. Hierlander created a chance in the final minutes for Sturm as well, though failed to find the target from the edge of the box.
Mircea Lucescu’s men upped the intensity in the final 20 minutes of the contest looking for an equaliser, and while they continue to push for a goal to win the tie, they could not capitalise on their chances, including an 87th-minute attempt from Buyalskyi and a header from Denys Harmash that rattled the crossbar. A 1-0 win in 90 minutes for Sturm Graz meant the tie was headed to extra-time.
The Ukrainian side continued to dominate as they did in the latter stages of normal time and were rewarded as Vivcharenko found himself with space inside the box and blasted the ball home. To make things even more complicated, the home side were reduced to 10 men when Manprit Sarkaria received his marching orders.
The hosts needed to turn things around but only had 15 minutes to do so, leading them to leave spaces at the back in their attempts to avoid elimination in front of their fans. However, Dynamo took advantage of those spaces and Tsygankov closed the tie with a shot from inside the box, killing Sturm Graz’s chances of mounting a late comeback.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Viktor Tsygankov (Dynamo Kyiv)
PSV - Monaco 3-2 (4-3) AET
Luuk de Jong’s dramatic header in the closing stages of extra-time set up a final qualifying round tie with Rangers as PSV overcame a well-oiled Monaco in Eindhoven.
In opposing fashion to the first leg, Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s men started shakily but PSV have been a potent threat in front of goal, scoring 17 in their last five games, and ultimately took the lead on 21 minutes.
Working the ball from left to right, Phillipp Mwene was released out wide before cutting back a perfectly weighted ball to Joey Veerman inside the box to tuck away an unerring finish, albeit against the run of play.
Despite their lead, PSV never looked comfortable in possession and there were warning signs just before half time when Wissam Ben Yedder was sent through on goal but the Frenchman’s strike was brilliantly saved by Walter Benitez. Monaco had found the net in each of their last 20 matches, and extended that record on the hour-mark.
After PSV failed to clear with the ball bobbling dangerously around their penalty area, Guillermo Maripan was on hand to bundle home, levelling the tie on the night and on aggregate.
As is so often the case, it was that man Ben Yedder that gave the French side the lead 12 minutes later. Substitute Gelson Martins surged forward down the right before finding Ben Yedder at the far post whose left-footed strike back across Benitez nestled in the corner.
Ben Yedder’s well-taken finish looked to be the final nail in the coffin for PSV’s Champions League hopes, but Erick Gutierrez had other ideas, popping up at the back post in the 89th minute to head home, sending their faithful into raptures and the game into extra time.
With both sides so evenly matched, it was always going to be decided by a moment of magic and that moment came in the 109th minute. Jordan Teze whipped in a devilish delivery from the right to find de Jong lurking at the far post who expertly headed back across goal beyond Alexander Nubel.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Luuk de Jong (PSV)
