Bartra’s Trabzonspor, fired and not charged by Betis

More than a decade after their last Champions League group stage game, Rangers regained their glory and qualified for the continental showpiece again after beating PSV Eindhoven 1-0 in the second leg of the final qualifying round.

The Scottish team will join Copenhagen and Dinamo Zagreb in the group stage, having secured two more tickets at stake today after eliminating Trabzonspor (0-0) and Bodo/Glimt (4-1). The three will enter one of the pots of the draw held this Thursday in Istanbul and will rub shoulders with the most important clubs in Europe.

FC Copenhagen competes in Turkey

Copenhagen, five seasons later, will meet again in the group stage. He made the first leg result good (2-1) and resisted the pressure (0-0) with his own name: his goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.

The former goalkeeper of Real Sociedad (he left the Basque club this summer), made some useful interventions, but, above all, he got a miraculous hand from a shot by Djaininy that could have changed the fate of his team in the first half.

The Danish team made the most of their signing while the opposite, Marc Bartra, starter for the first time at Trabzonspor, was left with honey on his lips. Just like his former club, Betis, who lost a million and a half euros that would have won if Bartra had played in the Champions League.

The group stage will be left without the former Verdiblanco central defender, but he will beat Pep Biel. The Spanish midfielder from Copenhagen, the leading scorer in the Danish Super League with five goals, celebrated a classification that will give a leap in quality to his cache.

Bodö/Glimt remains one step away from its debut

Bodo/Glimt died on the brink of victory. He held the victory of qualifying for the first time in his history for the group stage of the Champions League, but, in the last game, against Dinamo Zagreb, and when he won 1-0 in the first leg, he fell to his knees.

The Norwegian team, a specialist last season in tempering the presence of José Mourinho’s Roma, succeeded in three rounds to reach the final. On the way, they passed Klaksvik (Faroe Islands), Linfield (Ireland) and Zalgiris (Lithuania). And, if last year he was able to endorse an embarrassing 6-1 against Roma in the group stage of the Conference League and defeat them 2-1 in the first leg of the quarterfinals, against Dinamo Zagreb the miracle is possible.

But away from Norway, Bodo/Glimt is running out of steam. When his fans don’t support him, his strength diminishes. And, from there, the Balkan team knew very well, already turning the scoreboard in the first half. First, with a goal from Mislav Orsic and then, after half an hour, with Bruno Petkovic’s great goal of the night. The Dinamo Zagreb striker produced a very plastic bicycle kick in the penalty spot, where he beat goalkeeper Nikita Haikin.

However, Bodo/Glimt reacted in the second half and tied the game with Albert Gronbaek’s goal that brought extra time. Penalties seemed to be the best option to break the deadlock and then, in minutes 117 and 120, Josip Drmic and Petar Bockaj appeared to deliver a cruel penalty to the Norwegian team. The final 4-1 sealed Dinamo Zegreb’s pass.

Second leg playoff results

. Wednesday, August 24:

DYNAMO ZAGREB (CRO) 4 – Bodo/Glimt (NOR) 1 (0-1)

Trabzonspor (TUR) 0 – COPENHAGEN (DIN) 0 (1-2)

PSV Eindhoven (NED) 0 – RANGERS (ESC) 1 (2-2)

. Tuesday August 23:

BENFICA (BY) 3 – Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 0 (2-0)

VIKTORIA PLZEN (CZE) 2 – Qarabag (AZE) 1 (0-0)

Red Star (SRB) 2 – MACCABI HAIFA (ISR) 2 (2-3)

– Teams qualified for the Champions League group stage: Benfica (POR), Viktoria Plzen (CZE), Maccabi Haifa (ISR), Copenhagen (DIN), Rangers (ESC) and Dinamo Zagreb (CRO).