It was a busy night of European football on Thursday, as the qualifying rounds for the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference Leagues were completed ahead of the draw on Friday for the league phase draw. In the Europa League, Ajax and Anderlecht are through, while in the Conference League, Panathinaikos knocked out Lens, and Chelsea qualified after losing against Servette.
Ajax and Anderlecht cruised into the league phase in the Europa League, while in the Europa Conference League, Real Betis and Panathinaikos went through on Thursday night.
Ajax faced Jagiellonia Bialystok with a 4-1 lead after their away trip in the first leg, and found the second match similarly easygoing. With almost two-thirds of possession in the match, Ajax cruised to a 3-0 victory as Kian Fitz-Jim, Kenneth Taylor and Brian Brobbey all got on the scoresheet.
Anderlecht are through to the next round after Francis Amuzu’s late strike doubled their advantage to 2-0 on aggregate, knocking out Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk in the process.
Besiktas started at home against Lugano with the scores at 3-3 after the first leg, but they blew away their opponents on Thursday night.
Italian veteran striker Ciro Immobile scored on seven and 77 minutes, with a goal each from Gedson Fernandes, Rafa Silva and Sali Ucan. Lugano scored a consolation goal through Shkelqim Vladi on 59 minutes.
Hearts failed to overturn a 1-0 defeat in the first leg against Czech side Viktoria Plzen. The SPL team suffered a setback on 76 minutes when Lukas Cerv struck for the visitors, securing a 2-0 win on aggregate in Edinburgh.
Rapid Wien fell short against Braga in their tie, as they drew 2-2 at home with the Portuguese side. Braga led 2-1 from the first leg, but the home side scored through a Bright Arrey-Mbi own goal after just seven minutes, and Isak Jansson scored two minutes into the second half to give them a 3-2 lead on aggregate. However, two goals in three minutes – the first from Amine El Ouazzani from the spot on 68 minutes and the second from Ricardo Horta – saw the Austrians crash out.
Ireland’s Shamrock Rovers had little chance of progressing against PAOK after losing 4-0 in Greece last week, and when Magomed Ozdoyev and Kiril Despodov scored in the second half for the away side, it confirmed their elimination.
La Liga side Real Betis kept their clean sheet intact in the second leg against Kryvbas. After winning the away leg 2-0 last week, they scored three in four minutes to record a 5-0 win on aggregate. Aitor Ruibal scored on 40 minutes, then two more in quick succession from Abde Ezzalzouli rounded out the victory.
Fiorentina squeaked into the next round with a penalty shootout win. Moise Kean, freshly signed from Juventus in the summer, notched a goal in the 59th minute, and after a surprising 3-3 draw at home in Italy last week, they looked set to claim a victory on the night in Hungary, and overall.
However, Luca Ranieri then conceded a penalty and saw red for his foul deep into added time.
That left David de Gea to face a penalty after a string of saves that had kept his new team in the match. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, Zsolt Nagy sent him in the wrong way for a 97th-minute leveler at the end of the second half.
The situation went from nervy to ominous for Fiorentina when Pietro Comuzzo was given a second yellow seven minutes into extra time, reducing the away side to nine men, with penalties still 13 minutes away.
La Viola held on and attention turned to De Gea once more, and it was the former Manchester United player who stepped up again, saving one spot kick as his side went through 5-4 on penalties.
Larne had an Andy Ryan hat-trick to thank as they rallied to a comeback victory against Lincoln Red Imps. Bernado Lopes scored for the away side after 20 minutes to move them 3-0 clear on aggregate, but two penalties in the first half gave Ryan a brace. Chris Gallagher then saw red just before the hour mark, before Ryan popped up again on 83 minutes to clinch a 4-3 win over two legs.
Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor were eliminated by St. Gallen after a 1-1 draw saw the tie go to penalties, with the Swiss team edging it 5-4 in the shootout.
