FCK beat Molde to stay in contention

FC København remain in the hunt to qualify from UEFA Europa League Group E following a 2-1 triumph at Molde FK.

Ariël Jacobs' team needed a victory to guarantee still being in contention heading into matchday six and got the result they wanted thanks to goals from César Santin and Rúrik Gíslason either side of Daniel Chima's equaliser. With VfB Stuttgart winning 5-1 at FC Steaua Bucureşti, FCK are sure to qualify with a 1-0 or two-goal victory at home to the Romanian club on 6 December.

Crowned Norwegian champions for the second successive season since matchday four, Molde were unable to shake off their autumn-long European hangover. A quarter-hour in, they were still rubbing their eyes when FCK's Andreas Cornelius darted intelligently onto Pierre Bengtsson's cross only to see his header saved by Espen Bugge Pettersen's legs.

The Molde keeper was outsmarted soon after, though, diving to his right as Santin stroked his spot kick down the centre after Chima had been penalised for a foul on Cornelius. Beaten once by the Danish outfit, Pettersen was quick to dust himself down and did superbly well to block Ragnar Sigurdsson's effort from close range.

It took Molde less than a minute of the second half to create more than they had in the whole of the first, Chima turning an attempt just wide after a slick move down the right. Though Ole Gunnar Solskjær's charges survived a fleeting scare when Santin waltzed into their area soon after, they were a team resurgent. Their warranted equaliser arrived moments after an hour had elapsed, Chima heading in Magnus Eikrem's inswinging free-kick from the left.

There looked to be only one winner, but FCK shrugged off their tardy start to the second period and went ahead with 14 minutes left courtesy of Santin's cute pass and Gíslason's clinical finish. Though Chima spurned a late chance to register a carbon copy of his first goal, the game was up for the hosts.