We started the second leg of the Champions League third qualifying round brilliantly. We scored three goals against the Romanian champions in the first half. After an active start, we opened the scoring in the 13th minute. After a corner kick, Sørensen tried to get the ball into the net. Goalkeeper Tarnovanu blocked it, but Birmančević was quick to follow up and scored. The Serbian forward increased the lead just before the 30-minute mark. Olatunji’s fall in the penalty area was enough for the referee to award a penalty, which Birmančević calmly converted. Before the end of the first half, Haraslín extended the lead with one of his trademark moves.
The second half of the match was evenly balanced at the start, with play primarily taking place in the midfield. After fifteen minutes, however, Olaru scored to reduce the deficit to 1-3. As time progressed, FCSB pressed harder for more goals, which led to another goal by Edjouma. Despite the intense pressure in the final moments, the home team was unable to add another goal, and that means we will now face Swedish champions Malmö FF in the first leg of the Champions League play-offs next week.
FCSB – AC Sparta Praha 2:3 (0:3)
Goals: 60. Olaru, 85. Edjouma – 13. a 28. (pen.) Birmančević, 37. Haraslín. Yellow Cards: 29. Olaru, 29. Baluta, 48. Lixandru, 90. Tarnovanu, 90. Cretu – 34. Preciado, 52. Sørensen, 79. Kuchta. Referee: M. Krogh – D. Wollenberg Rasmussen, S. Bramsen (M. Redder) | VAR: P. van Boekel | AVAR: J. Kamphuis. Attendance: 28 875.
FCSB: Tarnovanu – Radunović, Ngezana, Dawa, Cretu – Lixandru (71. Alhassan), Sut (46. Edjouma) – Baluta (46. Popa), Olaru, Stefanescu (46. Baeten) – Miculescu.
Sparta: Vindahl – Vitík, Sørensen, Zelený – Preciado (53. Wiesner), Laçi (84. Sadílek), Kairinen, Ryneš – Birmančević (84. Solbakken), Olatunji (68. Kuchta), Haraslín (68. Daněk).
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