Young Boys, Red Bull Salzburg, and Sparta Prague have successfully secured their positions in the revamped 36-team Champions League following their respective play-off matches on Tuesday. The Swiss champions, Young Boys, made a return to the tournament with a 1-0 victory against Galatasaray, resulting in a 4-2 aggregate win.
Alan Virginius netted the decisive goal in the 87th minute in Turkey, while Galatasaray’s goalkeeper, Fernando Muslera, received a red card for an altercation with a Young Boys substitute during the celebration.
Salzburg is poised to make their sixth consecutive appearance in the main phase after concluding their tie with a 1-1 draw against Dynamo Kyiv, which secured a 3-1 aggregate score. Adam Daghim opened the scoring for Salzburg early in the match, but Vladyslav Vanat equalized for the visitors. Salzburg will join Sturm Graz as one of the two Austrian teams in Thursday’s draw.
Meanwhile, Sparta Prague advanced through the qualifying rounds with a 2-0 victory over the Swedish team Malmo, achieving a comprehensive 4-0 aggregate success.
In the return leg, both teams failed to convert a penalty, but Sparta managed to score twice in the closing moments, with Lukas Haraslin converting a penalty and Albion Rrahmani adding another goal. The remaining four spots in the tournament will be determined on Wednesday.
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