Four-time European champions Ajax Amsterdam were dumped out in the third qualifying round of the Champions League after a 2-2 draw at home to Nice on Wednesday, as Scottish champions Celtic squeezed past Rosenborg.
Ajax were left to rue some sloppy defending as Nice scored twice in Amsterdam after a 1-1 draw in France to go through on away goals.
Vincent Marcel grabbed a 79th-minute equaliser for Nice after Ajax’s Donny van de Beek and Davinson Sanchez had cancelled out Arnaud Souquet’s early opener for the French side.
Celtic had only managed a scoreless draw at home to Rosenborg and struggled to break down the Norwegians in Wednesday’s second leg.
James Forrest, however, finally found the net in the 69th minute, firing home from a tight angle to put Brendan Rodgers’ side through with a 1-0 victory.
There was plenty of drama in Berne as Swiss side Young Boys recovered from a 3-1 defeat away to Dynamo Kiev, winning 2-0 at home to go through on away goals.
FC Copenhagen hammered FK Vardar 4-1 at the Parken stadium in the Danish capital to go through 4-2 on aggregate, while Turkish league runners-up Istanbul Basaksehir cruised past Belgian side Club Bruges 2-0 at home to win 5-3 on aggregate.
The successful teams now go forward to the playoff round, with the winners qualifying for the group stage of Europe’s lucrative elite club competition.
The draw for the playoff round takes place on Aug. 4.
Results from the Champions League Qualifying Round 3 second leg matches on Wednesday:
Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands) – Nice (France) 2-2 (halftime: 1-1)
First leg: Nice – Ajax Amsterdam 1-1. Nice win on away goals after 3-3 on aggregate.
Rijeka (Croatia) – Salzburg (Austria) 0-0 (halftime: 0-0)
First leg: Salzburg – Rijeka 1-1. Rijeka win on away goals after 1-1 on aggregate.
Legia Warsaw (Poland) – FC Astana (Kazakhstan) 1-0 (halftime: 0-0)
First leg: FC Astana – Legia Warsaw 3-1. FC Astana win 3-2 on aggregate.
Olympiakos Piraeus (Greece) – Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) 2-2 (halftime: 1-1)
First leg: Partizan Belgrade – Olympiakos Piraeus 1-3. Olympiakos Piraeus win 5-3 on aggregate.
Rosenborg Trondheim (Norway) – Celtic (Scotland) 0-1 (halftime: 0-0)
First leg: Celtic – Rosenborg Trondheim 0-0. Celtic win 1-0 on aggregate.
FH (Iceland) – Maribor (Slovenia) 0-1 (halftime: 0-0)
First leg: Maribor – FH 1-0. Maribor win 2-0 on aggregate.
Ludogorets (Bulgaria) – Hapoel Beer Sheva (Israel) 3-1 (halftime: 2-0)
First leg: Hapoel Beer Sheva – Ludogorets 2-0. Hapoel Beer Sheva win on away goals after 3-3 on aggregate.
Young Boys (Switzerland) – Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) 2-0 (halftime: 1-0)
First leg: Dynamo Kiev – Young Boys 3-1. Young Boys win on away goals after 3-3 on aggregate.
Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic) – FCSB (Romania) 1-4 (halftime: 0-1)
First leg: FCSB – Viktoria Plzen 2-2. FCSB win 6-3 on aggregate.
FC Copenhagen (Denmark) – FK Vardar (Macedonia) 4-1 (halftime: 2-1)
First leg: FK Vardar – FC Copenhagen 1-0. FC Copenhagen win 4-2 on aggregate.
Istanbul Basaksehir (Turkey) – Club Bruges (Belgium) 2-0 (halftime: 2-0)
First leg: Club Bruges – Istanbul Basaksehir 3-3. Istanbul Basaksehir win 5-3 on aggregate.
APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus) – FC Viitorul Constanta (Romania) 4-0 (halftime: 0-0, 90 mins: 1-0) AET
First leg: FC Viitorul Constanta – APOEL Nicosia 1-0. APOEL Nicosia win 4-1 on aggregate.
BATE Borisov (Belarus) – Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) 2-1 (halftime: 1-1)
First leg: Slavia Prague – BATE Borisov 1-0. Slavia Prague win on away goals after 2-2 on aggregate.
CSKA Moscow (Russia) – AEK (Greece) 1-0 (halftime: 0-0)
First leg: AEK – CSKA Moscow 0-2. CSKA Moscow win 3-0 on aggregate.
Tuesday, August 1, second leg:
Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) – Qarabag Agdam (Azerbaijan) 1-2 (halftime: 0-1)
First leg: Qarabag Agdam – Sheriff Tiraspol 0-0. Qarabag Agdam win 2-1 on aggregate.
