Football Flash

The first leg of the Champions Leagues preliminaries ended inconclusively for Romanian squads.

Newsroom, 28.07.2016, 12:46

Both Romanian League One teams playing their fixtures in the Champions League’s third preliminary round ended their debut game with a similar score, 1-all. On Tuesday, manager Laurentiu Reghecampf’s trainees played against Czech contenders Sparta Prague.

Steaua exceeded all expectations on the pitch, which was all the more praiseworthy if we take into account the fact that at the moment, their pool of regulars is not that well-stocked in terms of quality players. However, there were quite a few undefended lanes in Steaua’s defensive game, yet Sparta did not know how to take advantage of that during the game. However, if they want to keep their hopes alive for their European trail being as long as possible, Steaua is in dire need of fresh transfers in all its compartments.

This past Wednesday on home turf, Romanian champion team Astra Giurgiu played FC Copenhagen on home turf. Astra had a good run on the pitch during the first half, when they also drew first blood. However, their Danish contenders clearly dominated the second half of the game. Copenhagen leveled the score and several times afterwards were a whisk away from scoring yet again. The fixture ended 1-all despite all that, and FC Copenhagen rank as the main favorites to go through to the Champions League’ playoffs. T

he return legs are scheduled next week, on Wednesday, August 3rd. If they go through and make headway into the playoffs, Steaua and Astra will book their tickets for a position in Europa League’s group stage this coming autumn. For Astra, such a notable feat, provided it is accomplished, comes as an absolute first.