PARIS – Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk dumped Monaco out of the Champions League qualifying round with a 3-2 aggregate win sealed with an extra-time own-goal on Wednesday, AFP reported.
Unheralded Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova also made Thursday’s group stage draw as did RB Salzburg of Austria as the play-offs wrapped up.
Monaco were left to regret what might have been after two predatory strikes from Wissam Ben Yedder in the first half fired them ahead 2-1 on aggregate.
However, a 74th-minute goal from Marlos levelled the game and sent it into extra-time.Then, with just six minutes left on the clock, Monaco defender Rubin Aguilar hung his head in despair after nodding the ball into his own net.
Sheriff Tiraspol became the Moldova’s first representative in the group phase with a 0-0 draw in Zagreb after thumping Dinamo 3-0 in the first-leg.
No other team from the eastern European state of just 2.6 million people has previously made it into the final 32-team knock-out phase.
Austrians RB Salzburg scored two goals in the first ten minutes of their game at Brondby winning 2-1 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate.
On Tuesday, two-time winners Benfica, Swedish side Malmo and Swiss champions Young Boys also qualified for the group stage.
Benfica went into the pot after starting with a 2-1 first leg advantage over PSV Eindhoven and holding on for a goalless draw despite playing the final hour with 10 men.
Swiss champions Young Boys beat Hungarian title holders Ferencvaros 3-2 for a 6-4 victory and Swedish side Malmo reached the group stages with a 3-2 aggregate win over Ludogorets of Bulgaria.
The draw for the Champions League group stage takes place on Thursday in Istanbul with six match days from September to December.
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