Legia Warsaw and Jagiellonia Białystok have reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Conference League after a tense night of high drama, squeezing through to the next stage.
Legia, who secured a glamour tie against English heavyweights Chelsea, needed extra time to see off Molde, with last night's 2-0 scoreline handing them a 4-3 win on aggregate.
The Warsaw side started the strongest, carving out numerous attacks and hitting the post shortly before the 20-minute mark. The visitors, however, hit back, and Legia’s blushes were saved when Fredrik Gulbrandsen was flagged for offside after slotting in following a breakaway.
Minutes later, Legia took the lead after Paweł Wszołek wriggled through Molde’s defense to set up Ryōya Morishita with a tap-in from close range.
Legia withstood a sustained spell of pressure from the Norwegian side early in the second half and were unlucky not to seal the game in the dying stages of normal time after Kacper Chodyna’s shot was parried away by the keeper after the midfielder had been released one-on-one.
In extra time, Legia clinched their place in the quarterfinal in the 107th minute after a weak shot by forward Marc Gual trickled into the net after being fumbled by Molde’s keeper, Jacob Karlstrøm.
With the clock ticking down and both sides launching desperate upfield balls, the match descended into mayhem with the referee, Slovenia’s Matej Jug, flourishing two red cards—one for Molde’s Kristian Eriksen and the other for Legia’s Artur Jędrzejczyk.
It was equally frenetic in Belgium, with Polish champions Jagiellonia Białystok going into their match against Cercle Brugge with a seemingly unassailable 3-0 lead.
Showing a complete disregard for the script, the hosts flew into an early lead after Hannes Van der Bruggen fired into the net with a half-volley from outside the box. More chances followed with Felipe Augusto setting up a climactic second half after prodding the ball home on 50 minutes.
With the Poles visibly wobbling, Cercle pressed ahead and came close in the 57th minute, when a dipping, long-range shot was tipped acrobatically over the bar by keeper Sławomir Abramowicz. From the resulting corner, Cercle again threatened with Abramowicz saving from point-blank range before the ball was scrambled away.
Gathering their heads, Jagiellonia rallied and were able to contain the Belgian side to see out a memorable European night. The Poles will now face Spanish side Real Betis in the quarterfinals.
The Warsaw side started the strongest, carving out numerous attacks and hitting the post shortly before the 20-minute mark. The visitors, however, hit back, and Legia’s blushes were saved when Fredrik Gulbrandsen was flagged for offside after slotting in following a breakaway.
Minutes later, Legia took the lead after Paweł Wszołek wriggled through Molde’s defense to set up Ryōya Morishita with a tap-in from close range.
Legia withstood a sustained spell of pressure from the Norwegian side early in the second half and were unlucky not to seal the game in the dying stages of normal time after Kacper Chodyna’s shot was parried away by the keeper after the midfielder had been released one-on-one.
In extra time, Legia clinched their place in the quarterfinal in the 107th minute after a weak shot by forward Marc Gual trickled into the net after being fumbled by Molde’s keeper, Jacob Karlstrøm.
With the clock ticking down and both sides launching desperate upfield balls, the match descended into mayhem with the referee, Slovenia’s Matej Jug, flourishing two red cards—one for Molde’s Kristian Eriksen and the other for Legia’s Artur Jędrzejczyk.
It was equally frenetic in Belgium, with Polish champions Jagiellonia Białystok going into their match against Cercle Brugge with a seemingly unassailable 3-0 lead.
Showing a complete disregard for the script, the hosts flew into an early lead after Hannes Van der Bruggen fired into the net with a half-volley from outside the box. More chances followed with Felipe Augusto setting up a climactic second half after prodding the ball home on 50 minutes.
With the Poles visibly wobbling, Cercle pressed ahead and came close in the 57th minute, when a dipping, long-range shot was tipped acrobatically over the bar by keeper Sławomir Abramowicz. From the resulting corner, Cercle again threatened with Abramowicz saving from point-blank range before the ball was scrambled away.
Gathering their heads, Jagiellonia rallied and were able to contain the Belgian side to see out a memorable European night. The Poles will now face Spanish side Real Betis in the quarterfinals.
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