LONDON: Robin van Persie could not inspire Fenerbahce to victory in their Champions League third-qualifying round first leg clash against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday but last season’s quarter-finalists Monaco took a big step towards the play-off round.

Former Manchester United striker Van Persie was sent on as a second-half substitute for Fenerbahce as Shakhtar left Turkey with a goalless draw, leaving it all to play for in the second leg of their tie on Aug 5.

Monaco recorded a 3-1 victory away at Swiss side Young Boys and while the second leg should be a formality for the Ligue 1 side, a tougher task lies ahead with the likes of Manchester United and Valencia potential opponents in the playoff round for a place in the lucrative group stage.

Dutch striker Van Persie — signed amidst much fanfare earlier this month — came on for the last 20 odd minutes replacing Moussa Sow but contributed little in Istanbul.

He had a great chance to give his side the aggregate lead two minutes from time, but was unable to find the telling connection with a volley.

Nine-time Ukrainian champions Shakhtar made much of the early running, with Alex Teixeira flashing a shot wide in the 16th minute while Fenerbahce’s other United recruit Nani also endured a frustrating debut with the Portuguese winger playing the full 90 minutes.

Fenerbahce, who have returned to European competition after serving a two year ban for their involvement in match-fixing, are hoping of a return to the group stage of the Champions League for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Highly-rated left-back Layvin Kurzawa starred for Monaco in Bern where all four goals arrived in a frantic 11-minute period during the second half.

The 22-year-old Frenchman blocked a goalbound effort by Japanese striker Yuya Kubo on the line in the 62nd minute and then two minutes later scored at the other end with a sublime volley, from Fabinho’s cross, to set Monaco on their way.

Debutant Guido Carrillo doubled the lead and, although Raphael Nuzzolo hit back for Young Boys, Mario Pasalic — also making his first Monaco appearance — netted a minute later to wrap up the away victory.

Elsewhere, CSKA Moscow twice took the lead but on both occasions were quickly pegged back as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Sparta Prague.

Alan Dzagoev gave them a 14th-minute lead but Nigerian striker Kehinde Fatai found an instant reply for the visitors.

Bebras Natcho then missed a penalty and Zoran Tosic restored CKSA’s advantage in the 53rd minute after an error from Lukas Vacha, but the Sparta midfielder atoned for his mistake by crossing for Ladislav Krejci to head home four minutes later.

Panathinaikos were the only home side to win on the night, a 65th-minute penalty from Nikos Karelis completing a 2-1 comeback win after Club Brugge had taken an early lead in Athens.

Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo put the Belgian outfit 1-0 up only for Marcus Berg to hit back and then Karelis to convert from the penalty spot with the hosts playing the second half with 10 men after Sergio Sanchez was sent off for a challenge on Abdoulay Diaby.

FC Midtjylland, who won the Danish Superliga for the first time last season, face an uphill struggle to make the next qualifying round after they went down 2-1 at home to APOEL Nicosia.

Tomas De Vincenti scored both goals for the Cypriot side but Jakob Poulsen scored three minutes from time to keep the home side’s hopes alive.

Viktoria Plzen defeated Maccabi Tel-Aviv by the same score in Israel with the Czech side taking a two-goal lead in the first 21 minutes through Aidin Mahmutovic and Milan Tetrzela.

KF Skenderbeu Korce of Albania were also winners on the road as Hamdi Salihi’s brace sealed a 2-0 triumph at Moldova’s FC Milsami Orhei.

Belarusian side BATE Borisov were denied an away success as Brazilian defender Paulo Vinicius scored in the 89th minute for Videoton FC Fehervar after Aleksandr Karnitskiy had struck in the 56th minute of a 1-1 stalemate.

Dinamo Zagreb and Norway’s Molde shared the same score-line in Croatia as the hosts at Stadion Maksimir finished the match with 10 men. Angelo Henriquez put Dinamo 1-0 up but Ola Kamara restored parity before Paulo Machado was sent off in the second half.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2015

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