Twenty-nine of 32 places in the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League group stage have been claimed following a trio of qualifying playoff second legs on Tuesday.
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Benfica, Young Boys, and Malmo sealed their spots in the group stage, while Ludogorets Razgrad, Ferencvaros, and PSV Eindhoven are left to hope for next season.
Ferencvaros 2-3 (4-6 agg.) Young Boys
Former Seattle Sounders man Henry Wingo scored for the hosts, but it was another American whose team goes into the hat for the group stage draw.
USMNT forward Jordan Siebatcheu had a penalty saved as part of his 85 minutes for the winners, though he did score twice against CFR Cluj in the previous round of qualifying.
Below is Wingo’s goal for Ferencvaros. The 25-year-old played every minute of the Hungarians’ nine UCL qualifiers and also has an assist in league play.
Henry Wingo finds the equalizer for Ferencvaros 💥🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BMAQBDQMna
— Serie A on Paramount+ ⚽️🇮🇹 (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 24, 2021
Ludogorets Razgrad 2-1 (2-3 agg.) Malmo
Goals from Anton Nedyalkov and Pieros Sotiriou were not enough to keep the Bulgarians in the discussion after a 2-0 loss in the first leg, but Veljko Birmancevic’s 42nd-minute goal was the difference that pushed Malmo into the group draw after beating Rangers, Riga, and HJK Helsinki in the previous rounds.
PSV Eindhoven 0-0 (1-2 agg.) Benfica
PSV dominated but Benfica keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos never gave in and Nicolas Otamendi’s team forced PSV into a UCL exit.
Vlachodimos was under fire in making eight saves, many coming after Lucas Verissimo doomed Benfica to 10 men.
The only surprising thing is that PSV’s 73 percent possession and 21-4 shot edge didn’t deliver a goal.
Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League playoff fixtures
All matches kickoff at 3pm ET
Shakhtar Donestk v AS Monaco (Shakhtar leads 1-0)
Dinamo Zagreb v Sheriff Tiraspol (DZ leads 3-0)
Brondby v Red Bull Salzburg (Salzburg leads 2-1)
