Champions League: Klaksvik surprises again, Hrošovský misses crucial penalty

We know all the players who will qualify for the third round of the Champions League. Sparta will face Copenhagen, but there were more interesting results elsewhere. For example, Klaksvik or Servette have secured at least a Conference League group.

In the clash of teams that failed in Europe last year against Czech teams, Poland’s Rakow is next. The latter brought home a 3:2 lead and a 1:1 draw from Azerbaijan was enough for them to advance and secure at least the Conference League.

The biggest surprise was again Klaksvik. The Faroese champion, after eliminating Ferencváros, also knocked out Swedish Hacken, or rather eliminated them on their own ground on penalty kicks.

Swiss runners-up Servette, who go into the third round at the expense of Genk, also celebrated on penalties. Slovakian international Patrik Hrošovský missed the penalty kick for the Belgians, while ex-Slavic speedster Yira Sor did not feature at all.

Norway’s Molde looked like a surprise exit for 73 minutes, as HJK Helsinki had a one-goal lead from their home ground. But then the favourite scored twice, with the advancing goal coming in the 89th minute.

Sparta will play Copenhagen in the next stage, who beat Breidablik 8: 3 on aggregate. The confrontation between Dinamo Zagreb and Astana was even more clear-cut, with the Croatians winning 4:0 at home and 2:0 on Kazakh soil.

Galatasaray, after a draw in Lithuania, managed a rematch at home, albeit unconvincingly, winning against the big outsider 1: 0. Finally, Maccabi advanced at home despite a 0:1 away loss, but in the rematch the Israelis won 4:1 after extra time.

In the Conference League, Gzira goes on at the expense of Dudelange, who will be faced by Plzen if they advance. On the other hand, Cyprus’ Larnaca confirmed its role as favourite, with a home draw in the rematch enough to advance past Zhodino.

Source: UEFA