Champions League preliminary round: three Czechs in action. The likable Slovan and Almaty, Kazakhstan impressed

Seven matches of the Champions League qualification were played on Wednesday. Three Czechs were on the pitch, two of them national team players. How did Jaromír Zmrhal and Tomáš Pekhart do?

The most important match from the point of view of a Czech spectator was played in Warsaw. Legia played against Flora Tallinn with Tomáš Pekhart in the line-up and unexpectedly struggled to win.

From the third minute they were ahead, but after the change of sides Rauno Sappinen (who scored the Czech Republic’s goal in the World Cup qualification) equalised. Rafael Lopes scored the important winner in stoppage time.

Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava played a very good game against the favoured Young Boys Bern. Czech international Jaromír Zmrhal was part of the 0:0 draw, while defender Yuri Medvedev had to leave the field after thirty minutes.

In Kazakhstan, Kajrat Almaty won against Crvena Zvezda Belgrade 2-1 and is in a good position for the rematch. Slovenia’s Mura also impressed, playing goalless against Ludogorets.

On the other hand, Malmö (2:1 win over Helsinki) and Olympiakos (1:0 win over Baku) took advantage of their role as favourites. However, both the Swedish and Greek champions will not have it easy in the rematch.

In their last match, Edindhoven made a mockery of Galatasaray in a clash of two giants. Thanks to two goals from Mario Götze and a hat-trick from Eran Zahavi, the Turkish vice-champion won 5-1.

Source: UEFA