Croatian Dinamo Zagreb , Serbian Red Star, French Lille and Slovak Slovan Bratislava will play in the new edition of the Champions League, BTA reported.
Dinamo Zagreb defeated the relegated Ludogorets Karabakh from Azerbaijan and in the second leg 2:0 and with a total score of 5:0 qualified for the Champions League. Marko Pjaca scored for the Croatian champions after half an hour of play, and Mateus Silva of the Azerbaijan team scored an own goal at the start of the second half after a ricochet off a Peter Suchic shot. In the last minutes of the match, Kevin Medina from Karabakh received a red card, but then everything was already decided.
Red Star prevailed over Norwegian Budjo/Glimt 2:0 in the second leg after losing 1:2 in the first match. Bruno Duarte opened from the penalty spot for the Serbian giants midway through the first half. Uros Spajic scored for the cherished 2:0 after an hour of play, as the "stars" managed to keep their lead until the end.
Slavia Prague did everything possible, but could not eliminate the French Lille - 2:1. Greek midfielder Christos Zaferis opened the scoring for the Czechs as early as the fifth minute as they completely dominated the first half in which French goalkeeper Luca Chevalier. After the break, Slavia rushed to equalize the score after 0:2 in the first match, but opened up and Edon Zhegrova equalized for the "dogs" in the 77th minute. Ivan Schrantz gave Slavia the lead again five minutes before the end of regular time, and the Czechs hit the post twice in the final minutes, but eventually crashed out of the tournament.
There was also a lot of drama in the match between Slovan Bratislava and Midtjylland. Marko Tolic put Slovan ahead on the scoresheet, but Dogumar Simsir and Franculino made a complete turnaround for the Danes, who looked victorious almost until the end. In the 86th minute, Tigran Barseghyan equalized for Slovan and when going to extra time, Kyriakos Savidis brought the precious victory for the team from the Slovak capital - 3:2.
Champions League Playoffs
Karabakh (Azerbaijan) - Dinamo Zagreb - 0:2 (0:3)
Red Star (Belgrade) - Budjo/Glimt (Norway) - 2:0 (1:2)
Slavia Prague - Lille (France) - 2:1 (0:2)
Slovan Bratislava - Midtjylland (Denmark) - 3:2 (1:1)