Yahoo Sports Mission accomplished!
Home draw takes us into Champions League
Our Red Bulls and Dynamo Kyiv shared a 1-1 draw in Salzburg in front of over 23,000 fans - which when added to our 2-0 away win in Lublin is enough to take us into the league phase of the UEFA Champions League. While it might have looked like a done deal after the first leg, it was anything but on the night as Dynamo offered stiff resistance. Ultimately, Adam Daghim's strike in the second leg of the play-off was enough to see us celebrate into the Salzburg night!
Match summary
The fans could not wait for the big match to start, with so much at stake, but we paused kick-off for a very good reason - a minute's silence to pay tribute to the recently passed Sven-Göran Eriksson.
Then we got started - in worrying style. The visitors penned our Red Bulls right back in our own half, unleashing one attack after another on the goal guarded by Janis Blaswich. Bilo-Syni's efforts often came to nothing though, thanks in no small part to some wasteful finishing.
We finally got a lid on the game in dramatic fashion after around ten minutes of play. A brilliant move in midfield saw Maurits Kjaergaard lay the ball off perfectly to Adam Daghim, who turned inside, leaving several opponents trailing and slotted the ball into the bottom corner (12'). The 18-year-old Dane's first European goal gave us a valuable lead.
Amar Dedic then drove down the left side that he had been surprisingly selected on, and shot from a bit more distance than Daghim, only for the precision to be lacking.
After the visitors made a strong start, conceding had clearly put a big dampener on their hopes. Oleksandr Shovkovskyi's side lost the ball and Kjaergaard & Co forced a quick break that led to Moussa Yeo bursting behind the defence and testing Dynamo goalkeeper Bushchan (25').
Then an equaliser suddenly came. Vanat got onto the end of an optimistic long ball, sprung open our offside trap and beat Blaswich when one-on-one to make it 1-1 (29').
The goal seemed to rattle us, with our boys sitting deep and struggling to keep possession towards the end of the half. We managed to keep all of Dynamo's efforts at bay until we had time for a breather, however.
Pep Lijnders might have reminded our boys at the break what he said at a recent press conference: "A football game starts with the right mindset. And the mindset should be to attack." That is just how our Red Bulls set out in the opening minutes of the second period, after all. Nicolas Capaldo and Oscar Gloukh, just to name a couple, were regularly appearing on the edge of the opposing box without getting anything to show for their efforts.
Around an hour had been played when the momentum ran away from our boys again, with Dynamo doing everything they could to mount a shock comeback. The visitors gained an increasing share of the ball as we sat back and prepared to soak up their efforts.
With both teams wary of gifting the other the chance to break in the final stages, few chances resulted. Only Popov and Brazhko could test captain Blaswich's goal for Dynamo Kyiv, with fouls and treatment breaks eating up some of the remaining minutes of the 90.
The fans simply couldn't wait for the final whistle and referee Umut Meler provided that after a good five minutes of stoppage time. We did it - for the sixth time in a row we made the Champions League!
The draw for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League in 2024/25 takes place on Thursday 29 August at 18:00 CEST. We will keep you up to date on everything ahead of and after that.
Views
It is an incredible feeling, which is hard to put into words. We will remember this day for such a long time. A big thank you is due to the fans today. The atmosphere was incredible - and now we are ready for the Champions League!
It's an incredible success for us and the whole club! We were fantastic over the four matches and really deserved to qualify. It was tough to begin with today, as Kyiv put pressure on right from the start. We defended well over the 90 minutes.
A childhood dream of mine has become a reality. I just felt so much joy after my goal, but my mind was back on the match quickly as Dynamo pushed us all the way. I hope the draw places us with Barcelona or Real Madrid - that would be a dream for me!
I said to everyone here, as soon as I arrived, that I wanted to make for these kind of magical nights at the stadium together with the team. I just love this competition. I have won the Champions League once with Liverpool, and once we lost the final - special matches are always guaranteed! We had to really deserve qualification today, and gave everything for it. Dynamo Kyiv were strong opponents, so I have to give our boys an even greater compliment for managing it.
Line-up
Substitutions
Diambou for Capaldo (64'), Nene for Kjaergaard (64'), Gourna-Douath for Bidstrup (74'), Ratkov for Daghim (74'), Blank for Van der Brempt (90+2')
Yellow cards
Diambou (70' foul), Gourna-Douath (77' foul)
Injury news
Not available today were Fernando (thigh), Daouda Guindo (foot), Takumu Kawamura (knee), Karim Konate (knee) and Leandro Morgalla (thigh). Aleksa Terzic suffered a thigh injury in the first leg and is out for a few weeks. New signing Bobby Clark is not eligible in time for the play-offs.
