After a 1:1 tie, which was taken care of by visiting Jordan Larsson after 16 seconds of the game and Veljko Birmančević in the 80th minute, Sparta took the lead twice in overtime. First, Qazim Laci scored a great free kick, and then Victor Olatunji also scored from the stop. But Viktor Claesson pulled the Danish representative out of the pit each time.
Sparta started with penalties, but captain Ladislav Krejčí initially hit the ball just into the crossbar. In the fourth series, even Asger Sörensen didn’t make it, whose shot in the middle was caught by goalkeeper Kamil Grabara, who made a great catch in the match, and Roony Bardghji confirmed the progress of the Danes. Copenhagen awaits Raków Czestochowa in the final preliminary round, the Polish club went over the Cypriot Aris Limassol after the overall result 3:1.
“Penalties are already a joke. Unfortunately, I didn’t help the team. That’s part of sport, there are good moments and bad moments,” stated Krejčí.
Sparta did not beat Copenhagen even in the fourth match in the cups, and since the last promotion to the group of the Champions League in the 2005/2006 season, they were eliminated in the qualification of the competition for the ninth time in a row. She finished in the preliminary rounds of the cups in six of the last seven cases.
The Spartans will extend their wait for participation in the Champions League group for at least 19 years and their Danish coach Brian Priske did not hide his great disappointment after the unfortunate exit from his compatriots. “Obviously we are sad about the result. But we have to be proud of how we played the game. Against a great opponent with a huge budget, we were the better team, we created more chances. It was a big game and we were very close to progressing, Priske said.
Sparta lost at least 8.63 million euros (roughly 208 million crowns) due to elimination. Five million euros (120.5 million crowns) would be earned by progressing to the final preliminary round of the Champions League and another 3.63 million euros (87.5 million crowns) for securing at least a Europa League group. However, he can still qualify for it.
Spartan striker Jan Kuchta covers the ball in the match against Copenhagen
source: ČTK author: Kateřina Šulová
The Spartans weathered the initial cold shower
Compared to the opening match in Copenhagen, the Prague team started with only one change in the line-up, Wiesner replaced Mejdro on the right side of the midfield. The match between the reigning champions of their respective countries started with a shock for Sparta, as the visitors took the lead in a flash after a quarter of a minute of play. Goncalves left Achúri’s pass to Larsson, who turned and opened the scoring with a shot from the edge of the box with the help of Panák’s flow into the counter movement of goalkeeper Vindahl.
The home team could respond from several chances – after captain Krejčí’s header, Haraslín’s penetration, Sadílek’s shot or at the beginning of the second half after Birmančevič’s action.
In the 56th minute, Krejčí pounced on Birmančevič’s cross from the corner and finally equalized with the rebound off the post. However, the video referee entered the game and referee Gözübüyük canceled Sparta’s goal due to Krejčí’s foul on Elyounoussi.
The disallowed goal obviously swayed the home team and dulled their pressure. In the 76th minute, Prague striker Olatunji took the ball away from Boilesen in a fight between two alternating players, but he failed in his attempt to hook Grabar.
Four minutes later, Sparta got a regular comparison after all. Birmančević penetrated from the left side right in front of the goal and shot through the Copenhagen defense, including Grabara. In the red jersey, he scored his second competitive goal. Shortly afterwards, in an electrifying atmosphere in front of 18,109 spectators, the home side looked for a turnaround, but Grabara scraped another Krejčí header for a corner.
Extra time started cautiously, but in the 105th minute, Laci turned the score around with a beautiful shot into the top corner of the goal. “In a match like this, it doesn’t matter at all who scores the goals. The main thing is to win and advance, we didn’t manage to do that. But I think we were the better team and deserved to advance more,” said Laci after his debut goal for Sparta.
However, the defending Danish champion managed to respond in the setting of the opening extra time, when Spartan Sörensen failed to spot Claesson. After that, a flare landed near the Prague substitutes and the main referee stopped the match for a while.
The home team took the lead back at the end of the second overtime after the substitutions. Minčev headed Peška’s cross into the post, but Olatunji managed to clear the crossbar despite the difficulties. Like Laci, he scored the first competitive goal for Sparta. But the visitors didn’t wait long for the equalizer again, Claesson ran onto Christian Sörensen’s cross and denied Vindahl a chance with a header in the 112th minute. Then the Danes completed a turnaround in penalties.
“It was really small details that decided which team advanced. We lost twice in overtime and I see the main reason why we advanced in the end is that we were able to react and equalize each time,” said Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup.
Rematch of the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions League:
Sparta Prague – FC Copenhagen 3:3 after extra time. (1:1, 0:1), on pen. 2:4
Goals: 80. Birmančević, 105. Laci, 107. Olatunji – 105.+3 and 112. Claesson, 1. Larsson. Penalties were converted by: Laci, Kairinen – Diks, Claesson, Boilesen, Bardghji. They did not convert: Krejčí, A. Sörensen (both Sparta). Referee: Gözübüyük – Zeinstra, Balder – Higler (video, všichni Niz.). ŽK: Wiesner, Birmančevič, A. Sörensen, Friis (assistant coach) – Falk, Elyounoussi, Achúri. ČK: 88. Friis. Spectators: 18 019. First match: 0:0, Copenhagen advanced.
Sparta: Vindahl – A. Sörensen, Panák (46. Vitík), Krejčí – Wiesner (77. Mejdr), Kairinen, Sadílek (89. Laci), Zelený – Birmančevič (94. Pešek), Haraslín (72. Olatunji) – Kuchta (94 . Minchev). Coach: Priske.
Copenhagen: Grabara – Jelert, Vavro (55. Boilesen), Diks, C. Sörensen – Elyounoussi (108. Bardghji), Goncalves (85. Clem), Falk (108. Óskarsson), Lerager, Achúri – Larsson (74. Claesson). Coach: Neestrup.
2023-08-15 20:01:02
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