© EuroFootball.com
UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, unlike the first leg, did not provide surprises - the ticket to the group stage was won by the teams considered favorites, although some had to overturn the deficit from the first leg.
The most intense match took place in Belgium, where "Brugge" tried to avenge the first leg loss to the Norwegian team "Valerenga". B.Balabanas equalized the result in the 79th minute with a goal after a cross from the edge, no goals were scored in extra time, and the Belgians performed better in penalty shootouts, defeating the opponents 4-3.
This year, Belgium will have another representative in the Champions League, as Brussels' "Anderlecht" easily won away against Prague's "Slavia" and advanced to the main tournament. A.Serhatas and M.Mpenza scored goals for the Belgian club towards the end of the match.
In Amsterdam, "Ajax" fell behind against "Brondby" after a goal at the end of the first half, but R.Babel equalized the score with a long-range shot in the second half. W.Sneijder then scored a beautiful goal to put the hosts ahead and secured the victory with another goal two minutes from time.
"Werder" Bremen, despite losing away to the Basel club, managed to win at home thanks to three goals in eight minutes of the second half: I.Klasnic scored in the 64th minute, T.Borowski converted a penalty soon after, and Klasnic struck from distance to seal the victory.
"Villarreal" will debut in the main Champions League tournament after defeating Liverpool's "Everton" in the second leg. Despite M.Arteta's goal for the English team in the 69th minute, D.Forlan secured the win for the hosts in the last minute.
Despite winning in the first leg, Milan's "Inter" faced a tough second leg against Shakhtar Donetsk due to a penalty from a previous season match. A.Recoba opened the scoring for Inter with a precise long-range shot, but B.Elano equalized for the Ukrainian side. However, Shakhtar failed to score again, and Inter advanced to the group stage.
The Glasgow "Rangers" easily defeated their opponents after a victory in Cyprus against "Anorthosis", winning with a two-goal margin - goals were scored by T.Buffel and D.Prso. On the other hand, "Man Utd" cruised through the third qualifying round, winning both legs against "Debrecen" with a 3-0 scoreline.
The results of Wednesday:
Prague's "Slavia" 0 - 2 Brussels' "Anderlecht" (Aggregate result 1-4, first leg 1-2) 72' [0 - 1] Akin Serhat 84' [0 - 2] Mbo Mpenza
"Brugge" 1 - 0 "Valerenga" (Aggregate 1-1, 0-1, Penalty shootout 4-3) 79' [1 - 0] Bosko Balaban
..."Villarreal" 2 - 1 Liverpool's "Everton" (Aggregate 4-2, 2-1) 20' [1 - 0] Juan Pablo Sorin 69' [1 - 1] Mikel Arteta 90' [2 - 1] Diego Forlan
