Champions League play-offs: Liverpool, Sporting CP run riot
Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine
Five more teams realised their dreams of reaching the 2017-18 Champions League group stage on Wednesday, with Liverpool and Sporting CP both scoring freely in the second legs of their play-off encounters.
theScore looks back at all the action from the latest slate of fixtures:
CSKA Moscow 2-0 Young Boys (3-0 aggregate)
Goals
- 45th minute – Georgi Shchennikov (CSKA Moscow)
- 65th minute – Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow)
Stats
| Possession | Shots Attempted | Shots On Target | Fouls Committed | Offsides | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSKA Moscow | 49% | 19 | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| Young Boys | 51% | 14 | 3 | 12 | 2 |
Summary
CSKA Moscow kept clean sheets in both legs against Swiss side Young Boys to reach the group stage of the Champions League for a fourth consecutive season.
Steaua Bucharest 1-5 Sporting CP (1-5 aggregate)
Goals
- 13th minute – Seydou Doumbia (Sporting CP)
- 20th minute – Junior Morais (Steaua Bucharest)
- 60th minute – Marcos Acuna (Sporting CP)
- 64th minute – Gelson Martins (Sporting CP)
- 75th minute – Bas Dost (Sporting CP)
- 88th minute – Rodrigo Battaglia (Sporting CP)
Stats
| Possession | Shots Attempted | Shots On Target | Fouls Committed | Offsides | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steaua Bucharest | 53% | 16 | 10 | 14 | 1 |
| Sporting CP | 47% | 9 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
Summary
Sporting CP produced a scintillating away performance in Romania, sweeping four goals past Steaua Bucharest in the final 30 minutes alone.
FC Copenhagen 2-1 Qarabag (2-2 aggregate)
Goals
- 45th minute – Federico Santander (FC Copenhagen)
- 63rd minute – Dino Ndlovu (Qarabag)
- 66th minute – Andrija Pavlovic (FC Copenhagen)
Stats
| Possession | Shots Attempted | Shots On Target | Fouls Committed | Offsides | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen | 55% | 16 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| Qarabag | 45% | 6 | 3 | 12 | 4 |
Summary
Qarabag came away with one of the more surprising results in the play-off round, as the Azerbaijani outfit edged out Danish club FC Copenhagen on away goals.
Liverpool 4-2 Hoffenheim (6-3 aggregate)
Goals
- 10th minute – Emre Can (Liverpool)
- 18th minute – Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- 21st minute – Emre Can (Liverpool)
- 28th minute – Mark Uth (Hoffenheim)
- 63rd minute – Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)
- 79th minute – Sandro Wagner (Hoffenheim)
Stats
| Possession | Shots Attempted | Shots On Target | Fouls Committed | Offsides | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 49% | 20 | 10 | 3 | 2 |
| Hoffenheim | 51% | 9 | 4 | 13 | 5 |
Summary
Liverpool ended this contest as early as possible, with Emre Can coming close to a hat-trick in an utter annihilation of Hoffenheim. For the first time, England has five representatives in the Champions League group stage.
Slavia Prague 0-0 APOEL Nicosia (0-2 aggregate)
Goals
Stats
| Possession | Shots Attempted | Shots On Target | Fouls Committed | Offsides | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slavia Prague | 58% | 24 | 4 | 21 | 1 |
| APOEL | 42% | 3 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
Summary
APOEL parked the bus and earned the result it needed against a desperate Slavia Prague.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)
