Sabah, LASK and Bodø/Glimt reach Champions League league phase

Three second-leg matches in the UEFA Champions League qualifying play-off round took place on Tuesday, August 25. Azerbaijan’s Sabah, Austria’s LASK and Norway’s Bodø/Glimt secured places in the league phase of Europe’s premier club competition.

The most incredible turnaround of the night came in Austria. After losing the first leg 3-0 to Celtic, LASK appeared to have only a slim chance of progressing. Their situation became even worse in the return leg when Callum McGregor put the Scottish side ahead in the 21st minute.

The Austrians then produced a remarkable comeback. Moses Usor pulled one back in the 32nd minute before Robert Ljubičić and Samuel Adeniran made it 3-1 after the break. In the 90th minute, Florian Flecker scored LASK’s fourth goal to send the tie into extra time.

Adeniran became the hero of extra time, completing his brace in the 109th minute. LASK won the match 5-1 and the tie 5-4 on aggregate, despite having trailed Celtic by four goals at one point over the course of the two legs.

The match in Azerbaijan proved no less dramatic. Sabah, who had lost the first leg 2-1 to Hapoel Be’er Sheva, conceded as early as the 10th minute of the return fixture. Christian Nwachukwu restored parity in the 38th minute.

After the break, the Israeli side went in front again through Guy Mizrahi, but Umarali Rakhmonaliev equalised. The key moment of regulation time came in the fourth minute of stoppage time, when Tellur Mutallimov scored Sabah’s third goal to send the match into extra time.

The hosts finally swung the tie decisively in their favour during extra time. Orphé Mbina found the net in the 101st minute before Joy-Lance Mickels completed the scoring at 5-2. Sabah won 6-4 on aggregate and reached the main stage of the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

Christian Nwachukwu’s goal is of particular interest to Armenian supporters. The Nigerian footballer is a product of Vista, where he played alongside Edgar Piloyan. The two players later crossed paths again at Bulgarian club Botev.

Following the historic achievement, Sabah head coach Valdas Dambrauskas thanked the supporters and his players, describing the evening as a special one: “Today I am the happiest head coach in the world.”

In the third match of the day, Bodø/Glimt gave NEC no chance in a 3-0 victory. The Dutch side’s task became considerably more difficult early in the game when goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz was shown a red card.

The Norwegians made their numerical advantage count late in the first half. Fredrik André Bjørkan opened the scoring in the second minute of stoppage time, and Sondre Auklend added a second a few minutes later. After the break, a Deveron Fonville own goal completed the scoring. Bodø/Glimt will play in the Champions League league phase for the second consecutive season.

As a result of Tuesday’s matches, Sabah, LASK and Bodø/Glimt secured their places in the Champions League. Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Celtic and NEC will continue their European campaigns in the league phase of the Europa League.

There, they could potentially also face Ararat-Armenia. To make that happen, the Yerevan club must successfully complete its Europa League play-off tie against Romania’s Universitatea.