August 14, (THEWILL) – Lille advanced to the UEFA Champions League play-offs after a thrilling match against Fenerbahce in Turkey on Tuesday.
The French club won 3-2 on aggregate, with Jonathan David scoring a crucial penalty in extra time. This victory came despite Lille being reduced to 10 men when substitute Aissa Mandi was sent off on his debut.
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, who lost the first leg 2-1, managed to force extra time with a late own goal by Bafode Diakite. However, their hopes were dashed when Jayden Oosterwolde’s handball led to the decisive penalty. Cenk Tosun nearly equalised, hitting the crossbar with a header, but Lille held on to progress.
In other matches, Slavia Prague defeated Union Saint-Gilloise 4-1 over two legs to set up a clash with Lille in the final qualifying round. Slovan Bratislava overcame APOEL Nicosia 2-0 on aggregate and will face Midtjylland, who beat Ferencvaros 3-1 overall.
Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt easily dispatched Poland’s Jagiellonia Bialystok with a 5-1 aggregate score, while Salzburg narrowly edged out FC Twente 5-4 after a 3-3 draw in the Netherlands. Rangers’ European journey ended with a 2-0 home loss to Dynamo Kyiv, resulting in a 3-1 aggregate defeat.
The most dramatic encounter saw Qarabag defeat Ludogorets 7-2, scoring four goals in extra time after forcing the additional period with a 3-2 lead. This result propelled Qarabag into the final qualifying round of the revamped 36-team UCL tournament
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
