FAILED NEIGHBORS
Lithuanian Zalgiris, Moldovan Sheriff, Azerbaijan’s Qarabag, Kazakhstan’s Astana, Belarus’ BATE and Ukraine’s Dnepr-1 finished their run in the Champions League. In this motley company, Sheriff had the best chances, winning the first match against Maccabi Haifa. Sheriff’s players even scored first in the second leg. But they did not manage to bring the cause of victory: the Israeli team, five minutes before the end of regulation time, transferred the match to extra time. And there, inspired by “Maccabi”, the “Sheriff” finished off, sending two more balls into the net.
Qarabag said goodbye to qualifying for the Champions League because of the Polish Rakuwa. The second leg ended in a draw. A week ago, Qarabag managed to come back from 0:2, but missed the end, conceding a goal in the last minutes. In the return match in Baku there was a draw that ruled out the possibility of the Azerbaijani club continuing to fight in the Champions League.
If we talk about the main losers, Astana and BATE had more pain. The former lost with a total score of 0:6 to Dinamo Zagreb. Borisov’s attack proved to be very good, scoring five times in two matches. But everything was spoiled by the defense, which seemed to have not reached any of the matches at all, having missed 11 of the opponent’s attacks. As a result, two defeats – 2:6 and 3:5.
KLAKSVIK MAKES HISTORY
Even if the fairy tale of Faroese Klaksvik ends at the next stage of Champions League qualification, it will have its own continuation. The fact is that even in this case, the club has already received the right to play in the group stage of the Conference League. Of course, it will be the first team from the Faroe Islands to reach this stage of European competition.
FC “Hacken”
In the first qualifying round, Klaksvik smashed Ferencvaros in Budapest with a score of 3:0, simultaneously sacking Stanislav Cherchesov. And in the second round, the incredible Faroese broke through the resistance of the Swedish champion “Hacken”. The home game, as with the Hungarians, ended goalless. And on the way, the Faroese again sent three balls. True, now they needed more time: the main one ended with a score of 2: 2, in the additional clubs the gates were hit once again, and in the penalty shootout, the Faroese players turned out to be more accurate.
“GENK” HAS NO LUCK
FC “Servette”
The Belgian runner-up “Genk” received the Swiss “Servette” as rivals. Everyone perfectly understood which side had the advantage in skill, so they hardly worried after the first game in Geneva, which ended in a draw – 1: 1. Normal result for a meeting of guests. At home, more was expected of Genk, including the bookmakers, who considered him a clear favourite. And when Servette was in the minority already in the third minute of the game, many thought that he was doomed. And the first goal for the Belgians only reinforced this idea in the minds of many. But the Swiss recovered, then they conceded a goal from the hosts, after a while they did it again, and in the penalty shootout they turned out to be more accurate. Not without a huge role in the success of “Servette” and the failure of “Genk” in the implementation of moments. How else to characterize the departure of the club with a total advantage in statistics: shots – 25:4, on target – 16:2, possession – 65%:35%.
UNDER 18 YEARS OLD – AUTHOR OF A HAT-TRACK
FC Copenhagen
Icelandic Orri Ouskarsson plays for Copenhagen, but only recently has he started appearing regularly in Danish championship matches. His talent as a player was already highlighted by his play last season, but who could have imagined that he would score a hat-trick in the fourth international of his career? In addition, only 11 minutes were enough for him, although separated by a break, from minute 46 to minute 56. Copenhagen would have beaten the Irishman Breidablik without his contribution, but now if anything can be said about the results of this confrontation it is only the cadence of fire from the young striker.
THE NORWEGIANS SHOWED CHARACTER
Molde was the only club that advanced after losing the first game (0-1) without extension in the second. He was opposed by HJK. The Finns held out for a long time, repelling the attacks of the Norwegians, but 16 minutes before the end of the meeting, they first established parity, and then in the 89th minute dealt a decisive blow to the opponent.
“Maccabi” from Haifa also went to the next stage after the defeat in the first match, but the Israeli club in the game with the “Sheriff” needed another half hour.
