Monaco and Skënderbeu well set for play-offs
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
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Monaco and Skënderbeu won by two goals away from home on a night of nine third qualifying round first legs that also yielded victories for APOEL, Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzeň.
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• Monaco, quarter-finalists last season, triumph 3-1 away to Young Boys
• Plzeň register 13th victory in as many UEFA Champions League qualifying fixtures
• Fenerbahçe and Shakhtar play out goalless draw in Istanbul
• Skënderbeu, 2-0 winners at Milsami Orhei, have never reached play-offs
• Six more third qualifying round first legs on Wednesday
CSKA Moskva 2-2 Sparta Praha
• Trailing twice, Sparta Praha recovered to earn a draw on a rainy evening in Moscow. Events might have unfolded differently, though, had CSKA midfielder Bebras Natcho's 29th-minute penalty not been saved by David Bičík.
• That occurred with the score 1-1, Kehinde Fatai having rapidly evened things up after Alan Dzagoev's 14th-minute opener. Ladislav Krejčí made it 2-2 just before the hour, ensuring the Army Men's joy that followed Zoran Tošić's strike was equally short-lived.
Milsami 0-2 Skënderbeu
• Skënderbeu are well placed to become the first Albanian team to reach the UEFA Champions League play-offs after Hamdi Salihi's double against Ludogorets Razgrad's conquerors, who squandered early chances through Artur Patraş and Cristian Bud.
• Liridon Latifi's right-wing cross allowed Salihi to finish expertly on 49 minutes. The Albania striker doubled his and Skënderbeu's tally from the spot after Ovye Shedrack was penalised for handball.
Midtjylland 1-2 APOEL
• APOEL's bid to repeat last season's group stage appearance is on track after a 30th-minute Kian Hansen own goal was followed shortly after by Tomás De Vincenti's unstoppable effort.
• A Midtjylland lifeline arrived via Jakob Poulsen's thunderous 88th-minute drive from long range, though the Wolves have it all to do to prevent themselves becoming APOEL's third Danish qualifying victim in seven seasons.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1-2 Plzeň
• Plzeň have won all 13 matches in UEFA Champions League qualifying since their debut campaign in 2011/12, this latest victory sealed by two goals in five first-half minutes in Israel.
• František Rajtoral fashioned the opener, delivering a cross from the right that was tapped in by Aidin Mahmutović. One soon became two as Milan Petržela, running onto a straight ball out of defence by Václav Procházka, beat Juan Pablo. Substitute Barak Itzhaki's chipped goal 11 mintues from time gives Maccabi hope going into the next week's return leg.
Panathinaikos 2-1 Club Brugge
• Panathinaikos fell behind, squandered a penalty and had a man sent off yet still managed to defeat a Club Brugge side headed into a tenth-minute lead by Boli Bolingoli Mbombo.
• Marcus Berg, whose spot kick was saved by the feet of Sébastien Bruzzese, drew the Greens level. Sergio Sánchez was then dismissed before the interval. The ten men emerged victorious, however, courtesy of Nikos Karelis's second-half penalty, awarded after Bolingoli Mbombo had handled.
Fenerbahçe 0-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
• Robin van Persie, as a second-half substitute, and Nani were among five Fenerbahçe debutants in a match short on clear goalscoring opportunities.
• Shakhtar, who reached the round of 16 last term, went closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half when Taison's shot was repelled at his near post by Volkan Demirel.
Young Boys 1-3 Monaco
• All four goals in Berne were scored in a 12-minute spell after the hour mark, Layvin Kurzawa's sweetly-timed volley starting the frenzy.
• Substitute Guido Carrillo doubled the lead with his first competitive goal for his new club, but Raphaël Nuzzolo swiftly pulled one back for the hosts. Croatian Mario Pašalić – on loan from Chelsea – restored the Ligue 1 side's two-goal cushion.
Videoton FC 1-1 FC BATE Borisov
• BATE went in front in the 56th minute when Nemanja Milunović directed Nemanja Nikolić's corner goalwards and Aleksandr Karnistki supplied the final touch.
• When Mikhail Gordeichuk's long-range dipping effort crashed off the bar, home goalkeeper Branislav Danilović, with a point-blank save, somehow kept out Vitali Rodionov's follow-up header. Videoton's late pressure paid off as defender Paulo Vinícius planted a firm header past Sergei Chernik from an Ádám Gyurcsó corner.
Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 Molde
• Things are evenly poised between Dinamo Zagreb and Molde after the Norwegian title holders quickly levelled after falling behind in the Croatian capital.
• Josip Pivarić's cross allowed Ángelo Henríquez to put Dinamo in the ascendant, only for Ola Kamara to restore parity with a header of his own.