3rd round of qualifying - Round up:
Game of the round:
Zenit - Dinamo Minsk 8-5 agg.: After the 0-4 in the first leg, Zenit came back to knock out Minsk despite being a man down and needing two goals for extra time in the 72nd minute. Thanks to Dzyuba, they got the two goals, but after the 99th minute goal by Minsk, they had to get
two more. And they did! And then did it once more, with Minsk falling apart in the final minutes of extra time. Final score 8-1! Zenit through to the play-offs, where they will face Molde from Norway.
Other notable results:
Sturm Graz - AEK Larnaca 0-7 agg.: LOL Graz, after the 0-2 home loss they got smashed 0-5 in Cyprus.
LASK Linz - Besiktas 2-2 (Besiktas on away goals): Linz had Besiktas on the ropes, but a late Negredo goal sends Besiktas through to a play-off tie against Partizan Belgrade. That's gonna be...
fireworks.
F91 Dudelange (a.k.a. DÜDELINGEN) - Legia Warsaw 4-3 agg.: Legia Warsaw once again showed the best of Polish football and drops out to Luxembourg's champions. Six years after knocking out Salzburg in CL qualifying, Dudelange now has the chance in another EL playoff, this time against CFR Cluj. With Jagiellonia and Lech Poznan also dropping out, there are no Polish clubs left.
Feyenoord - Trencin 1-5 agg.: Unfortunately for the Dutch, their comeback fell quite a bit short compared to Zenit. A promising start with an 8th minute opener was quickly followed by the equaliser in the 10th minute. Feyenoord couldn't find the 5 goals they needed. Trencin will now play AEK Larnaca for a place in Pot 4 of the EL Group Stage draw.
Playoff ties:
o/u 2.5 suspensions in the two matches between Partizan and Besiktas?
And here are the pots assuming the higher ranked team wins the EL playoff and the lower ranked team loses the CL playoff: