Europa League: Besiktas Reaches Playoffs, Awaiting Vlahovic. Salzburg's Showy Draw

Besiktas, managed by Italiano, secured a narrow victory against Czech side Hradec Kralove. The Turkish club broke the deadlock in the 40th minute with a goal from Cerny, the only one of the match, allowing Dusan Vlahovic's new team to advance to the final round of Europa League qualifiers. The official announcement of the former Juventus player's move to Besiktas came in the afternoon – where he received his first ovation from his new fans – with the Serbian footballer signing a three-year contract worth €7.5 million per season. Salzburg also progressed thanks to a thrilling draw against Pafos, a team featuring former Chelsea player David Luiz and an opponent of Juventus in the last Champions League. The Cypriot club took the lead in the 13th minute with a goal from Lele, then extended their advantage with a strike from Biel. The Austrian club fought back – having won the first leg 1-0 – finding a goal to make it 2-1 through Tabakovic. The Bosnian striker would go on to score two more, completing his hat-trick and putting the match at 3-2 in favor of the Austrians. In the final moments, a goal from Mammadov leveled the score, but the aggregate of the two legs resulted in a 4-3 victory for Salzburg.

Europa League: Who Else Advanced

Gornik Zabrze and Ferencvaros each scored a goal, with the match ending 1-1. The opening goal was scored by former Bologna player Urbanski in the 45th minute. For the visitors, an own goal by Sacek equalized, a result that would eliminate them considering the Hungarian club's first-leg victory. Omonia advanced to the playoffs thanks to Diony's goal against Lincoln after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Universitatea Craiova overturned the deficit against Finnish side KuPS: the visitors took the lead with Gasc in the 4th minute, then Nsimba and Mora turned the tide in favor of the Romanian club, who will face Ararat-Armenia in the playoffs. Thun progressed despite a 3-2 loss away to Vikingur, with goals from Fehr and Labeau. CSKA Sofia also qualified, despite a 3-1 home defeat to Maccabi Tel Aviv; the decisive contribution was from former Inter player Stefano Sensi. Anderlecht won at home 3-2 against PAOK Thessaloniki, while a surprising elimination befell the Glasgow Rangers, who could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against Jagiellonia. Benfica also performed well, drawing 1-1 in Scotland against Hearts after a 6-1 victory in the first leg. Egnatia turned the tie around completely, dominating Shamrock Rovers at home with a 5-1 scoreline, after losing the first leg 3-1 to the Irish side.