AIK fashion slender advantage

AIK will take the slenderest of leads into their UEFA Champions League second qualifying round decider against AS La Jeunesse d'Esch thanks to a second-half goal from Pontus Engblom.

The 18-year-old's 57th-minute strike from a narrow angle was one of the few noteworthy moments in an otherwise uneventful first leg in Stockholm. Jeunesse d'Esch rarely threatened before or after Engblom's intervention but nevertheless still have hope of turning the tie in their favour when the teams reconvene for the second leg on 21 July.

Despite dominating possession AIK were unable to transform their superiority into anything tangible in the first half, a tame header from Engblom and an off-target Antônio Flávio effort proving the sum of their attacking endeavours.

Nils-Eric Johansson shot wide from Flávio's quickly-taken corner after the break before Engblom broke the deadlock just before the hour, turning the ball inside Marc Oberweis' near post after the visitors' defence failed to clear his initial attempt at finding a team-mate.

That prompted Gregory Servais to fire wide from a free-kick midway through the second half in what was a rare Jeunesse d'Esch attempt, although Per Karlsson had to be alert soon after to snuff out substitute Serdo Pupovac as Jacques Muller's side sought an equaliser.