What a night for Kairat Almaty! The Kazakh club pulled off a stunning turn-around earlier this week. They beat KuPS 3-0 at home on Tuesday. This win completely flipped their 2-0 loss from the first leg in Finland. It sends them into the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Portuguese midfielder Jorginho was right at the heart of their success.
Kairat wasted no time in the second leg. Dastan Satpayev scored just nine minutes in, putting the home side ahead. Portuguese player Luís Mata set up that goal. Then, Jorginho, the forward, netted an equalizer in the 29th minute. This made the overall score tied. Belarusian Valeri Gromyko added the crucial third goal just before halftime, in the 43rd minute. That goal sealed the deal.
Kairat Almaty will now face Slovan Bratislava from Slovakia. Slovan had a strong showing in their previous match-up. They beat Zrinjski 4-0 at home and then drew 2-2 in Bosnia. Portuguese-Angolan player Sandro Cruz started for Slovan in that game.
The next round of Champions League qualifiers kicks off on August 5 or 6, with return legs on August 12. These matches feature 12 clubs in the “Champions Path” and eight in the “League Path.” Benfica is one of the teams in the League Path. They will go up against French club Nice. This battle is for a spot in the playoff round, which is the final step before the Champions League league phase.
Meanwhile, in the Conference League, two other clubs with Portuguese connections also advanced. Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana and Luxembourg’s Differdange made it to the third qualifying round. These teams are coached by Portuguese managers Jorge Simão and Pedro Silva, respectively. Both Olimpija and Differdange landed in the Conference League after being knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers early on.
Olimpija Ljubljana earned a 1-1 draw against Andorran club Inter Escaldes. Diogo Pinto scored for Olimpija in that match. Pinto played alongside his fellow Portuguese countryman Diga. Pinto had a fantastic first leg, scoring a hat-trick in Olimpija’s 4-2 home victory.
Differdange hosted Welsh club The New Saints. They managed a narrow 1-0 win, repeating their success from the previous week. French player Samir Hadji scored the winning goal from a penalty kick.
Looking ahead, the next Conference League matches are set for August 7 and August 14. Olimpija Ljubljana will face either Belarusian Dinamo Minsk or Albanian Egnatia. Egnatia holds a 2-0 lead heading into their second leg on Thursday. Differdange, on the other hand, will go up against Estonian club Levadia.
