Champions Path: Paphos continues meteoric rise
10 - FC Kobenhavn ran rampant in their decider, triumphing 5-0 over Nordic rivals Malmo on the night and on aggregate. The Danes are now one round away from their seventh group phase appearance in the Champions League. For Malmo, however, this was their heaviest defeat at any stage of the competition in 10 years since taking an 8-0 trouncing at Real Madrid in the 2015/16 group stage.
7 - Slovan Bratislava forced a penalty shootout versus Kairat Almaty after the Slovak champions levelled the tie. However, it was the Kazakh outfit who prevailed 4-3 via spot kicks. That leaves them as the only team in the UCL to partake in all four qualifying rounds this summer. The one negative for Kairat was the fact that their defeat made it seven UEFA club competition matches without victory (0-2-5).
6 - Despite a red card early in the second half, Crvena zvezda were able to hold off Lech Poznan. The 1-1 draw in Belgrade was enough for them to hold on 4-2 across the two legs. Red Star, who have now reached at least the playoff round in each of the last four years, remain unbeaten in six all-time meetings versus Polish opposition. With that said, this was the first time they failed to come out on top in any of those matches.
4 - Ferencvaros impressed in their second leg game, as a Barnabas Varga brace paved the way for their 3-0 success over Ludogorets. That also turned out to be the final score over the two ties. The Hungarians, playing in the UCL for the seventh year running, are back in the playoff stage for the first time in four years. Overall, it is their third trip to the final round of the tournament's qualifiers.
8 - Cyprus' defending Paphos are fully enjoying their maiden Champions League showing. They finished off Dynamo Kyiv with a 2-0 home win, advancing 3-0 on aggregate. In what is just their second continental campaign, they have now assured themselves a Europa League spot at minimum. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Paphos' showings in Europe is their home form. The result on Tuesday was their eighth victory at home in just 11 games (8-1-2).
13 - Shkendija's wonderful UCL journey has come to an end for this term. Their 5-1 defeat at Qarabag, coupled with their 1-0 reversse last week, mean the North Macedonian outfit will continue their European season in the Europa League playoff round. This was the first time in 13 games that Shkendija lost a UEFA club competition match on the road when they scored. Fittingly, the last time this happened was in the 2018/19 UEL playoff round, the stage they are returning to for the first time since.
League path: Fenerbahce with incredible comeback
16 - Club Brugge stormed back from two goals down on the night to top RB Salzburg 3-2 in Belgium. Blauw-Zwart also advanced to the playoff round with a 4-2 aggregate score. This ends the Austrians' six-year run of playing in the Champions League proper. Moreover, this was the first time in 16 years that Salzburg lost both legs of a qualifying round tie. Maccabi Haifa were the last team to achieve this feat at Salzburg's expense, back in 2009/10.
5 - Viktoria Plzen were unable to overturn their 3-0 first leg reverse versus Rangers FC. While the Czech side did prevail 2-1 in the return leg, they lost 4-2 over 180 minutes. That put the Gers in the playoff round of the UCL, a year on from losing at the third stage of qualification. The Scottish giants continue to struggle on the road though. It was their fifth qualifying round game away in which they failed to win (0-2-3).
22 - It was usual business for Benfica, who topped OGC Nice 2-0 for the second consecutive week. The two-time European champions are back in the playoff stage, and will be confident of progressing from the round as well. They are now unbeaten across their last 10 UCL qualifying round matches (9-1-0). In that run, they have managed to score 22 times. In all but one of those games did As Aguias fail to score.
12 - Fenerbahce recovered from their first leg defeat against Feyenoord, putting five past the Dutch club at home. In the end, their 5-2 win on the night and 6-4 success on aggregate put them through. The Turkish side will feature in the UCL playoff round for the first time in 11 years, when they fell 5-0 to Arsenal. In what is now their third appearance in this round, Fener have never successfully negotiated a playoff round clash under its modern format.