Champions League Playoff, 2nd leg
* = seeded team
Teams in CAPITALS go to CL Group Phase, Losers go to EL Group Phase
August 27
Champions Path
Galatasaray SK (TUR) v BSC YOUNG BOYS (SUI)* 0-1 (0-0), 2-4 on aggregate
(Virginius 87'; Red Card: Muslera (Gal) 88')
A surprisingly listless performance by Gala considering what was at
stake. Throughout the first half Young Boys were the more dangerous team
on the break, and they also hit the post through a header by Congolese
striker Silvère Ganvoula. The closest Galatasaray actually came to
making up the deficit was Kerem Aktürkoğlu's free-kick early in the
second half that was guided in by Kaan Ayhan but was correctly flagged
down for offside. At the other end, Ganvoula once again headed against
the post. The tie was decided for good due to YB finally converting one
of their counter attacks, with two substitutes combining - former
Rangers forward Cedric Itten played in Alan Virginius, and the Lille
loanee and former French Under-20 NT captain left Fernando Muslera no
chance:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461594/32131-Record_2024_08_27_22_49_36_408.mp4
As has become kind of usual in Turkish-Swiss matches, going all the way
back to the infamous World Cup playoff in 2005, tempers then boiled over
with Gala fans throwing plenty of cups and worse onto the pitch,
Virginius leading a somewhat provocative celebration, and Muslera
losing his head and scything Virginius down - straight red.
Even if you disagree with the handball call in the first leg, the
question remains why it would even need to boil down to one single
situation in a two-legged tie between the currently last-placed team of
the Swiss Super League and a team that won the Turkish Süper Lig with
record points last season and has players like Icardi, Batshuayi,
Ziyech, Torreira, Demirbay, or Mertens at its disposal.
This is the second time in the last three seasons that there won't be a
Turkish team in the Champions League group/league phase. Next year
they'll have a guaranteed spot again due to their good UEFA ranking.
AC SPARTA PRAHA (CZE) v Malmö FF (SWE)* 2-0 (0-0), 4-0 on aggregate
(Haraslín 80', Rrahmani 83')
In a quite rare feat both sides missed a penalty in the first half -
on occasion of a corner kick Malmö defender Nils Zätterström dragged
down Asger Sørensen, but Veljko Birmančević took pity on his former club
and fired high over the bar, while at the other end Martin Vitík bowled
over Anders Christiansen, but Malmö's Danish captain was denied from the
spot by his fellow countryman Vindahl in the Sparta net. The Czech
champions remained the more dangerous team in the second half, and after
Kaan Kairinen's free-kick had come off the crossbar they were once again
awarded a penalty, conceded by Brazilian left-back Gabriel Busanello who
took the legs out from under Sparta's Ecuadorian substitute Ángelo
Preciado. This time around Lukáš Haraslín made no mistake from the spot,
and a few minutes later the Slovakian international was also
instrumental in getting the Czechs a second as he danced past Hugo Bolin
on the left wing before delivering the cross that was tapped in by
Sparta's new Kosovar signing Albion Rrahmani in the first match for his
new club:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461595/32130-Record_2024_08_27_22_49_27_23.mp4
Rrahmani has now made it from KF Ballkani into the Champions League in
just two years, not bad.
This is the first time since 2005/06 that Sparta Prague reach the
Champions League proper.
League Path
RB SALZBURG (AUT) v FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)* 1-1 (1-1), 3-1 on aggregate
(Daghim 12'; Vanat 29')
With yours truly in attendance, Salzburg's first ten minutes were pretty
terrible, completely hemmed in as they were by furiously attacking
Ukrainians, then just as in the first leg they went and scored with
their first dangerous foray into the Dynamo half. As it's not just
Sparta Prague (or Sturm Graz, for that matter) that's currently relying
on Danish talent it was Maurits Kjærgaard, who has improved leaps and
bounds under new coach Lijnders, who played in his 18-year-old
compatriot Adam Daghim, and the youngster skipped past several defenders
before beating Dynamo keeper Bushchan:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461596/32069-Record_2024_08_27_21_13_01_836.mp4
Salzburg were in ascendance after that, keeping the Ukrainians on the
back foot, and one might have thought that going up by three goals on
aggregate while clearly being the better team should be fine, right?
Wrong, it's Salzburg in a Champions League qualifier we're talking about
here. One long ball over the top by Dynamo's very promising young
centre-back Taras Mykhavko was enough to outwit Salzburg's defence,
and Vladyslav Vanat did well to keep his marker Samson Baidoo at bay
and fire past Janis Blaswich:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461596/32095-Record_2024_08_27_21_48_49_398.mp4
Dynamo were the dominant team after that, but Salzburg sat back with
surprising confidence (also calmly defending 16 corner kicks, their
previous weakness), and the Ukrainians only rarely got into really
dangerous positions, the most promising a late shot by Shaparenko
following a one-two with Vanat that he dragged pitifully wide. In the
end the goal remained Dynamo's only shot on target, and that was too
little.
After eleven qualification failures this is now the sixth time in a row
that Salzburg will play in the Champions League, and the first time ever
that Austria will have two teams in the group/league phase.
August 28
Champions Path
Qarabağ FK (AZE) v GNK DINAMO ZAGREB (CRO)* 0-2 (0-1), 0-5 on aggregate
(Pjaca 32', Matheus Silva 53' (og); Red Card: Medina (Qar) 88')
Qarabağ weren't nearly as dangerous in attack as in the first leg, and a
lovely individual effort by Marko Pjaca decided the tie for good, a
couple of stepovers followed by an unstoppable shot in off the far post:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461597/32217-Record_2024_08_28_19_20_18_457.mp4
The Azeris weren't all that bad, but simply too harmless up front, and
they conceded a second when a shot by Petar Sučić was blocked by
Qarabağ's newly signed Polish keeper Mateusz Kochalski, only to come off
the unlucky Brazilian right-back Matheus Silva, and go in:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461597/32225-Record_2024_08_28_19_58_06_588.mp4
Late on Qarabağ's Colombian centre-back Kevin Medina also saw a second
yellow.
Ninth Champions League group stage for Dinamo.
ŠK SLOVAN BRATISLAVA (SLK) v FC Midtjylland (DEN)* 3-2 (1-1), 4-3 on
aggregate
(Tolić 33', 82', Barseghyan 86'; Şimşir 41', Djú 50')
A fun match to watch from a neutral point of view. Pretty much every
danger posed by the Slovakians came from their right side, and that's
also how they got the opening goal - Slovan's Panamanian right-back
César Blackman found Marko Tolić all alone in the Danish box, and the
Croatian midfielder side-stepped Emiliano Martínez's feeble challenge
and beat FCM's Icelandic keeper Elías Rafn Ólafsson from a tight angle:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461598/32253-Record%20(1).mp4
The Danish champions reacted well and after Dominik Takáč had already
pulled off a great save against Darío Osorio's point-blank header the
Slovan keeper was beaten by Aral Şimşir who capped off a solo run with a
precise shot into the bottom corner:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461598/32259-Record%20(3).mp4
Slovan enjoyed a good spell after the break, but it was Midtjylland who
got the goal as Bissau-Guinean youngster Franculino Djú volleyed in
Juninho's weighted cross:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461598/32263-Record%20(4).mp4
The Danes appeared fully in control after that - that is, until they
suddenly conceded out of nowhere. Man of the match Tolić was being given
too much space at the edge of the area, and he found the gap to beat
Ólafsson at the far post:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461598/32268-Record%20(6).mp4
and that area to their left defensive side continued to remain
Midtjylland's Achilles heel. Three minutes later Viktoria Plzeň loanee
Idjessi Metsoko almost scored an identical goal with Ólafsson making a
great save to keep the shot out:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461598/32272-Record%20(7).mp4
and again just one minute later Slovan did indeed score from the same
spot, with Metsoko providing the assist for Armenian winger Tigran
Barseghyan:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461598/32273-Record%20(8).mp4
A shocked Midtjylland side had one good chance to level the score once
more, but in stoppage time Osorio's free-kick went off the left post
The first time that Slovan Bratislava qualify for the Champions League.
As by far the most successful team in the country it's strange that they
are only the fourth Slovakian team to make it, after Košice (1997/98),
Petržalka (2005/06), and Žilina (2010/11).
I also do find it a bit curious that all of Salzburg, Sparta, Malmö,
Galatasaray, and Bodø had as many or more Danish players on the pitch as
Midtjylland.
FK CRVENA ZVEZDA (SRB)* v FK Bodø/Glimt (NOR) 2-0 (1-0), 3-2 on aggregate
(Bruno Duarte 26' (pen), Spajić 59')
Red Star dominated the game from the start against disappointing
Norwegian champions. Glimt keeper Haikin had already had to claw out
In-beom Hwang's shot before Fredrik Sjøvold's unnecessary and clumsy
challenge on Red Star's new Angolan winger Felício Milson at the edge of
the area gifted the Serbians a penalty, calmly converted by another new
signing, Brazilian forward Bruno Duarte. Haikin then also had to push a
header by Peter Olayinka onto the crossbar, and while Glimt were
slightly better in the second half they still conceded the decisive goal
when Red Star captain Uroš Spajić headed in Timi Max Elšnik's corner
kick.
Following their extra time defeat in Zagreb two seasons ago another
Champions League Playoff disappointment for Bodø/Glimt in former
Yugoslavia.
League Path
SK Slavia Praha (CZE) v LILLE OSC (FRA) 2-1 (1-0), 2-3 on aggregate
(Zafeiris 5', Schranz 84'; Zhegrova 77')
Only five minutes in Slavia youngster Christos Zafeiris, who just a
couple of days ago announced he'd switch his NT allegiance from Norway
to Greece, halved the first-leg deficit by emphatically volleying in
from the edge of the box:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461600/32238-Record_2024_08_28_21_09_29_396.mp4
Tomáš Chorý then could have levelled the tie but in front of the gaping
net fired wide, and the French continued to ride their luck as a
Zafeiris free-kick went off the crossbar. Lille were better after the
break, hitting the crossbar themselves through Edon Zhegrova's wayward
free-kick cross, and the Kosovo international also got the equaliser
with a well-placed shot from distance:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461600/32267-Record_2024_08_28_22_37_37_425.mp4
The tie wasn't over yet though as the Czechs retook the lead thanks to
Euro 24 top scorer Ivan Schranz who rifled in the loose ball after Lille
keeper Chevalier had parried against Zafeiris:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461600/32269-Record_2024_08_28_22_44_35_400.mp4
and in the remaining minutes Slavia had three more huge chances to send
the game to extra time. But Zafeiris for the second time in this match
only hit the crossbar, Chytil was denied by Chevalier from point blank
range, and most agonizingly in the 94th minute the young substitute
Matěj Jurásek could have become Slavia's hero, but he sent his
completely free header inches wide:
https://media.onlajny.com/media/cs/football/2024/461600/32276-Record_2024_08_28_22_55_57_820.mp4
Pots for CL Group Stage Draw / August 28 18h00 CEST
As has become usual the draw will take place at the same time as the EL
and ConfL playoffs, but for the first time it will be done entirely
by computer.
Reminder how it works: every team will play four matches at home and
four matches away against eight different opponents, two from each pot.
You can't play against a team from your own league, and at most against
two teams from any other. At the end all 36 teams will be ranked in one
table, with teams 1-8 going directly into the Round of 16, teams 9-24
playing each other in a two-legged playoff, and teams below 24 being
eliminated. No more Europa League parachute.
Pot 1
Real Madrid CF (ESP-1/TH-CL) 136.000
Manchester City FC (ENG-1) 145.000
FC Bayern München (GER-2) 144.000
Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA-1) 116.000
Liverpool FC (ENG-3) 114.000
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA-1) 101.000
BV Borussia 09 Dortmund (GER-5) 97.000
RB Leipzig (GER-4) 97.000
FC Barcelona (ESP-2) 91.000
Pot 2
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER-1) 90.000
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP-4) 89.000
Atalanta BC (ITA-4/TH-EL) 81.000
Juventus FC (ITA-3) 80.000
SL Benfica (POR-2) 79.000
Arsenal FC (ENG-2) 72.000
Club Brugge KV (BEL-1) 64.000
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR-1) 63.000
AC Milan (ITA-2) 59.000
Pot 3
Feyenoord (NED-2) 57.000
Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR-1) 54.500
PSV (NED-1) 54.000
GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO-1) 50.000
FC Salzburg (AUT-2) 50.000
Lille OSC (FRA-4) 47.000
FK Crvena Zvezda (SRB-1) 40.000
BSC Young Boys (SUI-1) 34.500
Celtic FC (SCO-1) 32.000
Pot 4
ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SLK-1) 30.500
AS Monaco FC (FRA-2) 24.000
AC Sparta Praha (CZE-1) 22.500
Aston Villa FC (ENG-4) 20.860
Bologna FC 1909 (ITA-5) 18.056
Girona FC (ESP-3) 17.897
VfB Stuttgart 1893 (GER-2) 17.324
SK Sturm Graz (AUT-1) 14.500
Stade Brestois 29 (FRA-3) 13.366
Ciao,
Werner
