Confrontation

The game day in the Europa League turned out to be rich in intense bright matches, but the rivalry between Trabzonspor and Sparta attracted the most attention. Even in the first match, the teams scored two goals into each other's goal. Moreover, by the 83rd minute the Czech team was leading, but managed to miss twice and missed the victory.

As a result, the incomprehensibility in the end came around for Prague residents with a relegation from European competition.

The start of the return match turned out to be unsuccessful for them - already in the 11th minute, Alexander Sorlot opened an account after a filing from the flank. However, Sparta did not give up, and the chance in the end was given to her by 17-year-old striker Adam Glazhek, who evened the score. The last minutes were really hot. The guests went ahead with the whole team, but remained in the minority and missed in the 98th minute. Thus, “Trabzonspor” goes further, where it will play with the Greek AEK.

Favorites

But the sensational third qualifying round was not rich. All teams from leading European championships confidently stepped on. “Wolverhampton” again sent four unanswered goals to the goal of “Pyunik” by Alexander Tarkhanov, although the Armenian team on the road was worthy of resistance and even managed to take a break with zeros on the scoreboard.

The Spanish Espanyol upset the Swiss Lucerne three times. But “Eintracht” from Frankfurt am Main in the second leg with “Vaduz” scored only once.

However, not without losses. So, Torino, having defeated the Soligorsk Shakhtar at home, was content with a draw in Belarus. The hosts missed ten minutes before the end, but in the time added by the referee, they restored the status quo from the penalty spot.

And “Feyenoord” in Tbilisi had to recoup at all in the confrontation with the local “Dynamo” - 1: 1. Another representative of the Netherlands PSV, who began his journey in the Champions League, did not manage to hit the goal of the Norwegian Haugesund - 0: 0.

But the former team of Guus Thiel “AZ Alkmaar” four times upset the Ukrainian “Mariupol”.

Sensation

Since there were no really high-profile sensations at this stage, it remains to highlight the success of Dudelange. On the one hand, last season the Luxembourg champion made it to the group stage of the Europa League, and this time he got enough passable rivals in the tournament qualification - “Shkendiyu” and “Nymme Kalju”. On the other hand, in the summer the team lost most of the leaders, but still managed to get far in European competition.

In addition, Dudelange has not yet suffered a single defeat. He even flew out of the Champions League due to the guest goal rule, having twice drawn a draw with Valletta. And in the playoff round, the wards of Emilio Ferrera will play with “Ararat-Armenia”, and they are quite capable of stepping back into the group stage.

It is also worth noting a historic achievement for Northern Ireland football. Champion of the country “Linfield” unexpectedly twice beat the strongest team of Montenegro “Sutyesku” and made his way to the next qualifying stage of LE.

Denouement

The title of “comeback of the playing day” fully deserves “Aris”, which managed to pull out, it seemed, a hopeless confrontation with “Molde”. On the road, the Greek team devastatingly lost - 0: 3, and at home she needed to accomplish almost unbelievable.

However, the team from Thessaloniki managed to create a real miracle and equalized by the sum of two matches. Even in the first half, the hosts scored twice, and five minutes before the end of regular time they scored such a necessary third goal.

Unfortunately for fans of Greek football, this is where Aris’s strength ended. At the end of the first additional half, the team missed and didn’t find the energy to upset the opponent twice more.

Alas, along with Sparta, she completed her performance in the Europa League and Mlada Boleslav by Nikolai Komlichenko. True, the Russian forward himself did not take part in the return match with Steaua for unclear reasons.

Without their best scorer, the team was close to reducing the second meeting with an opponent from Romania to a goalless draw, but in the first added minute the visitors brought the goal of Jonuta Pantsiro further.

It is symbolic that the decisive ball managed to score a football player with a difficult fate. The fact is that the defender never hid his non-traditional sexual orientation and even led a video chat for gays. Because of this, no one wanted to buy an athlete in Romania, but this summer Steaua acquired Pantsyra, and he immediately began to beat off the money spent on him.

What an incredible, surreal story. He did gay videochat when he was younger. FCSB decided to sign him after other clubs turned him down because of his past. Tonight, Pantiru brought Europa League qualification in the 90th minute vs Boleslav with this epic goal. What A. Story. pic.twitter.com/ivGlwO5URQ

- Emanuel Roşu (@Emishor) August 15, 2019

Neighbors

Of course, Russian fans traditionally watch with interest the performance of other teams from the post-Soviet space, and on Thursday they were immediately pleased with four teams. The success of the Belarusian champion BATE in the confrontation with “Sarajevo” certainly did not become a sensation, because in the spring the Borisovites got to the playoffs of LE. I was not surprised by the victory of one of the strongest teams of Ukraine “Zarya” over Sofia CSKA.

But two teams from the Baltic states managed to please pleasantly. Firstly, the Lithuanian Suduva unexpectedly twice beat the Israeli Maccabi top club (Tel Aviv) and for the third time in a row reached the qualifying round of the Europa League qualification.

Finally, Riga, participating in European competitions only for the third time in history, managed to knock out the champion of Finland HIK from the fight. In Latvia, the teams dispersed in the world - 1: 1, and in Helsinki Riga missed already in the fourth minute.

The Ukrainian forward of guests Roman Debelko came to the fore. He twice struck the gates of others and once - his. It was his goal ten minutes before the final whistle that brought Riga to the next round.

Also, Astana passed quietly, which scored nine goals against Valletta in two matches, and Ararat-Armenia. The latter in the Caucasian confrontation was stronger than the Georgian Saburtalo.

Rivals

The Portuguese continue to compete successfully in European competition and competitors in Russia in the UEFA odds table. So, “Victoria Guimaraes” in the third qualifying round did not leave the slightest chance to “Ventspils”. In two matches, the team scored nine unanswered goals against the opponent. So far, Victoria does not know the losses in the LE - four matches and four victories.

He again defeated the Danish Brondby and the rival of Spartak Braga. If on the road wards Ricardo Sa Pinto scored four goals, then at home three - 3: 1. At the same time, the Russian team of judges, led by Alexei Yeskov, served the match.