In the opening match of the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions League in Chisinau, the players of Pilsen won over Tiraspol after a turnaround 2:1. The Czech champions will play a home rematch next Tuesday.
Sheriff sent Rasheed Akanbi into the lead in the 36th minute from the penalty spot, Tomáš Chorý also equalized from a penalty kick before the break. Pavel Bucha decided the match in the 55th minute.
Coach Michal Bílek’s men won the third duel in this year’s qualification for the elite competition, in the last preliminary round they eliminated Helsinki after winning 2:1 away and 5:0 at home.
The Zimbru stadium in Chisinau was played because Tiraspol is located in the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria, where cup matches cannot be held due to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine by UEFA’s decision.
The West Bohemians started in an unconventional 4-4-2 formation with two strikers Chorý and Kliment. The Sýkora midfielder played in the position of left defender, where he has already jumped in in the past.
Pilsen goalkeeper Staněk saved Luškja’s shot in the second minute. On the other side, a moment later, Abalora also flashed, eliminating Buch’s blow.
The two-sided offensive football continued in the following minutes. Renan Guedes missed the Plzeň goal from a distance, Kopic’s subsequent shot didn’t even fit between the posts, Abalora then caught Mosquera in a great chance.
After a slightly calmer passage, Sýkor played in the penalty area and Rasheed Akanbi converted the penalty in the 36th minute. After a while, the home goalkeeper brought down Havel, and referee Makkelie, after checking the video, which premiered in this year’s cup qualifiers in the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions League, ordered a penalty kick for Plzeň as well. The patient did not hesitate, similar to the opening match of the 2nd preliminary round in Helsinki.
At the beginning of the second half, Staněk stopped the visitors twice, who flashed against Pernambuco’s free kick and the subsequent shot by the Brazilian striker. Pilsen escaped from Tiraspol’s onslaught and scored in the 55th minute. The ball after Mosquera’s center bounced to Buch and he unusually headed it past Abalora.
In the end, Viktoria did not put the Moldovan champions under much pressure and won the third of four competitive matches in the season.
The West Bohemians would receive at least 213 million crowns in conversion in the event of Sheriff’s elimination (for participation in the play-offs and the certainty of at least the group of the European League) plus several tens of millions of crowns for the ten-year coefficient. Pilsen would play the winner of the duel between Karabakh and Ferencváros Budapest in the final 4th preliminary round of the Champions League. If Viktoria and Tiraspol were to fall out, they would face the loser of the pair CZ Belgrade – Pjunik Yerevan in the 4th preliminary round of the Europa League.
Draw Monaco, hat trick in Lisbon
The football players of Monaco drew 1:1 at home in the opening duel of the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions League with PSV Eindhoven. Benfica Lisbon beat Midtjylland 4-1 thanks to a Goncal Ramos hat-trick. Belgian runners-up Saint-Gilloise beat Glasgow Rangers 2-0 and reigning Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb got off to a good start with a 2-1 win at Bulgarian champions Ludogorca Razgrad.
Eindhoven took the lead in Monaco from the 38th minute after midfielder Veerman’s strike. Home stopper Disasi equalized in the 80th minute. The winner of the two matches will face the better of the pair Saint-Gilloise – Rangers in the final play-off for promotion to the group.
Benfica had a great first half against the Danish team, scoring three times. Ramos scored twice and Fernández once. Ramos completed his hat-trick after an hour of play, for the visitors, he reduced Sisto from the penalty spot. Defender Bah, who joined the Lisbon team from Slavia in the summer, remained on the bench for the entire match. Benfica is close to progressing to the playoffs, where they would face Dynamo Kyiv or Sturm Štyrský Hradec.
Saint-Gilloise sent Teuma into the lead in the opening act against the last finalist of the Europa League, Rangers, who was followed up by Vanzeir with a penalty kick after the change of sides. The team from Brussels played their first match in European cups after 58 years and made their debut in the Champions League qualifiers.
Dinamo scored both goals in the opening nine minutes in Bulgaria. First Perič scored and after him Padt scored his own goal. Tekpetey scored against Ludogorets in the first half. The team from the Croatian capital will challenge either Bodö/Glimt or Žalgiris Vilnius in case of promotion.
The opening match of the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions League:
Master part:
Sheriff Tiraspol – Viktoria Pilsen 1:2 (1:1)
Goals: 36. Rasheed from pen. – 41. Sick from pen., 55. Bucha. Referees: Makkelie – Steegstra, De Vries – Van Boekel (video, all Dutch). ŽK: Kpozo, Kiki, Abalora, Rasheed – Kalvach, Hejda, Kopic.
Assemblies:
Tiraspol: Abalora – Renan Guedes, Kiki, Radeljic, Kpozo – Luškja (72. Botos), Kyabou, Badolo – Pernambuco, Tejan, Rasheed (89. Ouattara). Coach: Tomas.
Pilsen: Staněk – Havel, Hejda, Pernica, Sýkora – Kopic, Kalvach, Bucha (90.+2 Qose), Mosquera (75. Holík) – Kliment (75. Trusa), Chorý (67. Dedič). Coach: Bílek.
Ludogorets Razgrad – Dinamo Zagreb 1:2 (1:2)
Goals: 22. Tekpetey – 6. Perič, 9. own Padt.
Non-championship part:
AS Monaco – PSV Eindhoven 1:1 (0:1)
Wickets: 80. Disasi – 38. Veerman.
Saint-Gilloise (Belg.) – Glasgow Rangers 2:0 (1:0)
Goals: 27. Teuma, 76. Vanzeir from pen.
Benfica Lisbon – Central Jutland 4:1 (3:0)
Goals: 17th, 33rd and 61st Ramos, 40th Fernández – 78th Sisto from pen.
