ATHENS: AEK Athens’ Alef (L) battles for the ball with Celtic’s Scott Brown (R) during the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round second leg at the Olympic Stadium.—AP
LONDON: AEK Athens and PAOK Thessaloniki gave Greek football fans plenty to cheer about as both clubs reached the Champions League play-off round and joined three former winners of Europe’s elite club competition on Tuesday.
AEK beat 1967 champions Celtic 2-1 in a fervent atmosphere in Athens for a 3-2 aggregate win over the Scottish side while PAOK held out for a 0-0 draw at Spartak Moscow after edging the Russian outfit 3-2 in the first leg.
Benfica, champions in 1961 and 1962, earned a 2-1 overall win over Fenerbahce after a 1-1 draw in Istanbul and four-time winners Ajax Amsterdam cruised to a 5-2 aggregate defeat of Standard Liege.
Red Star Belgrade, the 1991 champions, overpowered Spartak Trnava 2-1 away after extra time for a 3-2 overall victory over the Slovakian side who missed a penalty in the dying seconds.
Rodrigo Galo swept in a low cross from the right and Marko Livaja headed in the second for AEK before Scott Sinclair pulled one back for Celtic to set up a dramatic finish.
The outcome was a bitter blow for Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers while AEK will be relishing a two-legged clash with Hungarians Vidi FC for a berth in the lucrative group stage of the competition.
PAOK, who fought back from 2-0 down in the first leg against Spartak, were helped in the return leg when the home side’s striker Luiz Adriano was sent off in the 33rd minute for a foul on Jose Angel Crespo.
PAOK will face Benfica for a group stage berth, with the Portuguese giants tightening their grip when midfielder Gedson Fernandez fired them ahead in Istanbul before Alper Potuk equalised on the night.
Quickfire first-half goals by striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar and defender Matthijs de Ligt put Ajax firmly in control against Standard and David Neres added the icing on the cake with a third shortly after the break.
The Dutch side’s reward is an intriguing clash with Dynamo Kiev, who eliminated Slavia Prague 3-1 on aggregate after goals by Benjamin Verbic and Artem Besedin fired the Ukrainian side to a 2-0 home win over the Czechs.