UEFA Champions League from this season onwards, there will be 36 participants. At the moment, we already know 32 of them. On Tuesday, three of them won the pass in the fourth round of eliminations. The teams that had already gained an advantage a week ago advanced to the league phase. On Wednesday, the last four participants were known.
Salzburg and Sparta maintained their advantage. Two missed penalties did not interfere
After last week's match, RB Salzburg players were in a fairly comfortable situation. The Austrian vice-champions were defending a two-goal advantage they had won in Lublin in the match with Dynamo Kyiv. They started the loss at home in the best possible way. After 12 minutes they were leading 1:0. After an individual action, 18-year-old Adam Daghim ran into the penalty area, passed one of the defenders and aimed perfectly into the bottom corner. The Ukrainians managed to respond after a little over fifteen minutes. One long pass from Taras Mychawka from their own penalty area was enough for Władysław Wanat to get a shot. He hit the far post and equalized for 1:1. There were no more goals in the second half, which meant Salzburg's advancement.
Sparta Prague had the same starting position as RB Salzburg. A week ago they beat Malmoe 2-0 away. After a little over fifteen minutes they could have increased their advantage. After a foul by Zatternstrom the referee awarded penalty kick. Veljko Birmancevic stepped up to the penalty spot and shot high over the crossbar. To make matters worse, a few minutes later, Sparta's penalty area was boiling and Martin Vitik was swaying. The referee blew the whistle again, but in the opposite direction. However, fortune smiled on the Czechs, because Anders Christiansen also made a mistake from eleven meters.
The weakness on both sides was broken only by Lukas Haraslin, known from his performances in Lechia Gdańsk, and he did it… from a penalty kick. After a foul by Busanello in the 80th minute, he hit an undefendable shot into the top corner. Two minutes later, the Slovak followed up and laid the ball perfectly for Albion Rrahmani. The Kosovar shot into an empty net from close range and set the score at 2:0. Thanks to this, Sparta confidently advanced after a 4:0 aggregate victory.
Sensation in Istanbul. Galatasaray will not play in the Champions League. A huge brawl
The most evenly matched match was between the Turkish Galatasaray and the Swiss BSC Young Boys. In Bern, Filip Ugrinić secured a 3:2 victory for the hosts just four minutes before the end of the regular time, after he converted a penalty kick. In Istanbul, the game was goalless for a long time. Emotions reached their peak at the very end, when after one of the clashes, players from both teams got into a sharp shoving match, and cups and other objects were thrown from the stands onto the pitch. The referee stopped for a moment gameshowed cards to the players of both teams and ordered them to play on.
Two minutes before the end of the regular time, Galatasaray's situation became downright dramatic. After a fantastic counterattack, Alan Virginius went into the free field, lobbed Fernando Muslera and scored for 1:0 for the guests. In addition, a moment later, the Uruguayan goalkeeper received a red card. The result remained until the very end, which meant a sensational lack of advancement for the Turkish champions.
Results of Tuesday's matches of the 4th round of the Champions League qualifiers:
- RB Salzburg 1:1 Dynamo Kyiv, (3:1 on aggregate); Salzburg advances
- Sparta Prague 2:0 Malmoe FF, (4:0); Sparta advances
- Galatasaray Istanbul 0:1 BSC Young Boys (2:4); Young Boys advance