Whittled down to 20 teams fighting for the coveted remaining 10 slots in what is arguably the most prestigious club tournament on the planet, we had some of Europes best, most exciting sides battle it out these past two days. Here's a roundup of the first leg of the UEFA Champions League playoffs.
August 15, 2017
Quarabağ 1 - 0 København
Madatov '25
Frederico Santander's headed effort early on was København's only real chance on goal in a game which Quarabağ saw out comfortably.
Key Point
With Quarabağ having a 1-goal cushion over Ståle Solbakken's men, the Danish side with have a mountain to climb, but can certainly do it at home.
Hoffenheim 1-2 Liverpool
Alexander-Arnold '35 | Nordtveit og '74 | Uth '87
Liverpool head back to Anfield with a lucky 2-1 away victory against a dominant Hoffenheim who were unable to finish off their chances. 18 year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold scores his first-ever senior goal in a Liverpool kit with an inch-perfect, curling freekick; and James Milner sees his cross deflected in off Nordtveit's chest. Hoffenheim saw Kramarić's weak penalty saved early on, but a late Uth half-volley will give them hope come August 23.
Key Point
Jurgen Klopp and co. were able to do what no Bundesliga side could in the whole 16/17 season: win against Hoffenheim in the Rhein-Neckar-Arena. Julian Nagelsmann will no doubt be disappointed to see his side go out after such an amazing season.
APOEL 2-0 Slavia Praha
De Camargo '2 | Aloneftis '10
APOEL will head to Prague on August 23 in a match that could go either way, with Praha unlucky not to score an all-important away goal.
Key Point
APOEL's Dutch stopper, Boy Waterman, kept out a Slavia Praha side that were a better attacking side on the night.
Sporting CP 0-0 FCSB
A goalless draw that left a bitter taste in Sporting's mouth after a match that they were in the driver's seat for a vast majority of the time. Sporting's Acuña hit the woodwork, while FCSB's Mihai Pintilii was sent off in the 80th minute.
Key Point
Jorge Jesus' side will be keen on getting the early goal in Bucharest, expect it to come from Bast Dost.
Young Boys 0-1 CSKA Moskva
Nuhu '90+1 (og)
Disaster at the death for Young Boys with Nuhu's attempted header back to goalkeeper Von Ballmoos finds the the back of the net after a matchup that could've gone either way.
Key Point
Expect CSKA to hold on to their lead in Moscow; the side have been in the Champions League proper for the past 4 seasons.
August 16, 2017
H. Beer-Sheva 2-1 Maribor
Tavares '10 | Nwakaeme '12 | Tzedek '45+2 (P)
Beer-Sheva take a 2-1 lead to Slovenia after a Tzedek penalty in the dying seconds of the first half gave them the lead in a match where both sides asserted dominance for large spells of the 2nd half.
Key Point
With virtually nothing between these two sides, sparks will fly in the second-leg.
Napoli 2-0 Nice
Mertens '13 | Jorginho '70 (p)
With many expecting this mouthwatering tie to be a close encounter, Napoli exercised complete control of the match. Two red cards for Nice late on in the match, one of which was a controversial call. Mauricio Sarri's exciting brand of football could've led to 4 or more goals, but the Partenopei weren't yet up to their scoring best seeing as this is their first competitive match of the season.
Key Point
Nice failed to register a single shot on target against Napoli and will find it hard to keep up without the suspended Plea and Koziello. Expect Napoli to go on cruise control for the 2nd leg.
Olympiacos 2-1 Rijeka
Héber '42 | Odjidja '66 | Romao '90+3
Romao's strikes deep into extra time to give the Greek side the lead going into Croatia. Rijeka's Zuta shown a red card for his second offence after a handball. Olympiacos dominated possession throughout, but Rijeka made the most out of their time on the ball.
Key Point
Olympiacos' record against Croatian teams stands at W5 D1 L1 and will hope to add another win.
Celtic 5-0 Astana
Postnikov '32 og | Sinclair '42, '60 | Forrest '79 | Shitov '88 og
Celtic dominated the Kazakh side in a comfortable victory at Celtic Park. Astana had opportunities to score, but they don't have the quality to overcome a 5-0 deficit against the champions of Scotland.
Key Point
Celtic scored five despite having only THREE shots on target. Talk about being clinical.
Istanbul Başakşehir 1-2 Sevilla
Escudero '16 | Elia '64 | Ben Yedder '84
Istanbul Başakşehir were unlucky to lose against the Spanish giants in a match were they surprised everyone watching, maybe even themselves! Ben Yedder's late flick give the La Liga outfit the lead as they take the tie back to Spain.
Key Point
It's Istanbul Başakşehir's maiden campaign in the Champions League, while Sevilla already have five European trophies to their name.
My Predictions For Next Week
København 1-1 Quarabağ
Liverpool 1-3 Hoffenheim
Slavia Praha 1-0 APOEL
FCSB 0-2 Sporting
CSKA Moskva 2-1 Young Boys
Maribor 2-2 H. Beer Sheva
Nice 0-3 Napoli
Rijeka 0-1 Olympiakos
Astana 2-3 Celtic
Sevilla 3-1 Istanbul Başakşehir
Comment your predictions below! And as always,
Stay Passionate!
Images via UEFA and Liverpool FC
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