HUNGARIAN SIDE FERENCVÁROS reached the group stages of the Champions League for the first time in 25 years tonight after a rollercoaster qualification campaign.
A 0-0 draw with Molde — the former side of Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — in their play-off round return leg this evening ensured their progression on away goals after a 3-3 draw in Norway.
Elsewhere, Dynamo Kiev also prevailed after a 3-0 home win [5-1 on aggregate] over Gent, along with Olympiakos Piraeus, whose scoreless draw at Omonoia Nicosia was enough to seal a 2-0 overall victory.
After snatching a fortunate high-scoring draw in Norway, Ferencváros again rode their luck in Budapest to advance in the competition. The visitors missed several chances, and the Hungarian side now march on and bridge a 25-year gap in Europe’s top tier.
Djurgarden ✅
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) September 29, 2020
Celtic ✅
Dinamo Zagreb ✅
Molde ✅
Ferencváros have reached the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 25 years! 👏
Serhiy Rebrov back in the #UCL! #VMSport pic.twitter.com/23EMgq9A0m
A Vitaliy Buyalskiy goal and a brace of penalties from Carlos De Pena and Gerson Rodrigues sent Kiev into the knockout stages, while Greek side Olympiakos were dominant in their own clash tonight as they also progressed.
Tomorrow night, Krasnodar look to defend a 2-1 first-leg lead at PAOK Salonika, Midtjylland host Slavia Prague after a 0-0 opener and Salzburg host Maccabi Tel Aviv after winning 2-1 in Israel.
"It's a big achievement for them. They've had to come through 4 qualifying rounds.
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) September 29, 2020
"I'm looking at them and going how did they beat Celtic?"
Brian Kerr on Ferencváros qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.#UCL | #VMSport pic.twitter.com/OmifuYzbaf
Turning to European domestic matters this evening, Getafe jumped to the top of La Liga with a 3-0 victory at home to Betis, dislodging Valencia who had moved into first earlier in the evening.
Both Getafe and Valencia have seven points after the opening games in the fourth round of the Liga season.
Two teams playing on Wednesday — including Real Madrid who welcome Valladolid — can also reach seven. Celta Vigo, who end the midweek fixtures at home to Barcelona on Thursday, can reach eight points.
In Sevilla, Angel Rodriguez put the visitors ahead with an overhead kick after 13 minutes.
Marc Cucurella added a second in the 39th minute and two minutes later Angel added a third with a cross shot.
Betis ended the match with 10 men after Aissa Mandi received a second yellow card in the 83rd minute.
In the earlier match, Valencia won 1-0 at Real Sociedad in a match the home team dominated.
Real Sociedad could also have gone top with a victory and dominated play but were frustrated by an impressive display from the visiting goalkeeper Jaume Domenech.
The hosts lost their fluency after changing four attacking players in a mass switch in the 67th minute.
Maxi Gomez finished off a rare Valencia counter-attack to score the winning goal from close range after 75 minutes.
“They had one chance and they won, while we did things right, playing football, but we didn’t succeed,” said Real Sociedad coach, Imanol Alguacil.
- Additional reporting from AFP.
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