Danes in Italy, Ajax to Liverpool - UEFA Champions League 1 December 2020

Lokomotiv Moscow vs. FC Salzburg

It may come as a slight surprise that Lokomotiv has managed two draws against Atlético in the past two games, which puts them into a favourable position against Salzburg. The Austrians ideally need a win in Moscow to remain in the race for a spot in spring's Europa League knock-out stages or even a spot in the Champions League round of 16. The latter though would require a win over Atlético in the last round, as well as Bayern losing in Madrid. Salzburg will travel to Moscow with Air X:

AXY2906 STN xxxx-1845 SZG B735 (29/11/20, ferry flt)

AXY3002 SZG 1030-xxxx SVO B735 (30/11/20)

AXY206 SVO xxxx-1355 SZG B735 (02/12/20)

AXY203 SZG 1455-xxxx KRR B735 (02/12/20, ferry flt)

Atlético Madrid vs. FC Bayern München

Bayern are already through and will win this group, with 12 points from four games. Atléti meanwhile have to look into their back mirror, because two draws agains Lokomotiv Moscow could spell late trouble for them. Points against the already qualified Bayern would ease Atléti's nerves a little. The German visitors will come to town with Lufthansa, on an Airbus A350:

LH2570 MUC 1530-1810 MAD A359 (30/11/20)

LH2571 MAD 1020-1300 MUC A359 (30/11/20)

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Internazionale

14 goals in four matches, including two big wins over Shakhtar Donetsk mean that Mönchengladbach are sitting on top of this group. A win against Inter would seal their deal for a round of 16 spot and depending on the result of Real Madrid away in Ukraine, even a draw may be enough to qualify already with a game to spare. Inter will arrive at Düsseldorf with Alitalia, while the return flight will depart from Cologne, where there are no night flying restrictions.

AZ9018 MXP 1645-1825 DUS A319 (30/11/20)

AZ9019 CGN 0120-0305 MXP A319 (02/12/20)

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Real Madrid

Real will be relieved after winning away against Inter in the previous round, but there is work to do yet. The team of Zinedine Zidane will travel to Ukraine with Iberia, though the exact type of aircraft is yet to be specified:

IB2800 MAD 0900-1405 KBP A359 (30/11/20)

IB2803 KBP xxxx-0305 MAD A359 (02/12/20)

FC Porto vs. Manchester City

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is through to the round of 16 already. In a tight schedule it will be interesting to see whether City will pick a full squad for this away trip or whether they will leave the task to some keen reserve players. Guardiola's experience probably favours the first of those two options. City will travel to Porto with Titan Airways:

ZT7775 MAN 1500-1730 OPO A321 (30/11/20)

ZT7776 OPO 1500-1730 MAN A321 (02/12/20)

Olympique Marseille vs. Olympiacos Piraeus

The Greek visitors hold a slender advantage over Marseille, courtesy of a 1-0 win at home in October. Marseille for their part have not scored a single goal in this season's campaign and they are on a streak of 13 consecutive lost games in the Champions League. Ideally they would have to score at least two goals more than Olympiacos, who will arrive in Marseille with Aegean Airlines. But depending on how the last round will go, that may not even be enough to make it into the Europa League:

AEE4010 ATH xxxx-1210 MRS A320 (30/11/20)

AEE4011 MRS 1100-xxxx ATH A320 (02/12/20)

Liverpool FC vs. Ajax FC

A surprise loss at Anfield against Atalanta has thrown this group wide open. And with Liverpool's player availability at the moment, there seems to be no certainty at all for the match against Ajax. The Dutch team however have managed to beat Midtjylland 3-1 in the fourth round to remain in contention. They will travel to Liverpool with TUI:

OR7355 AMS 1400-1420 LPL B738 OO-JEF (30/11/20)

OR7356 LPL 1120-1350 AMS B738 OO-JEF (02/12/20)

Atlanta Bergamo vs. FC Midtjylland

The Danish champions are already out of the UEFA competitions and yet have two matches to play. Atalanta however have brought themselves seriously back into the running, with a good away win in Liverpool. Midtjylland are forced to travel from Billund instead of Karup again and will use The Great Dane Airlines to travel to Bergamo:

DW713 BLL xxxx-1150 BGY E195 OY-GDA (30/11/20)

DW714 BGY 1200-1400 BLL E195 OY-GDA (02/12/20)

Great Dane Airlines EMB-195 OY-GDA at Tenerife in December 2019

A first A350 in Belgrade - Champions League Group Stage MD5

Group A

Real Madrid vs. Paris St-Germain

The media interest is very high, wherever Neymar and his PSG team are traveling. So BEINsports has once again hired planes from Aero4M to cater for this need, this time even two EMB-145 going to Madrid:

AXY2501 LBG 1115-1315 MAD B735 9H-AHA (25/11/19)

AEH971 LBG xxxx-1205 MAD E145 (25/11/19)

AEH951 LBG xxxx-1650 MAD E145 (25/11/19)

AEH952 MAD 0005-xxxx CDG E145 (26/11/19)

AEH972 MAD 0115-xxxx CDG E145 (26/11/19)

Group B

Crvena Zvezda vs. FC Bayern München

Quite possibly a first visitor to Belgrade, Lufthansa is sending an A350-900 with FC Bayern München. This looks rather extraordinary, as for similar trips in the past, the team would have traveled on an A321.

LH2570 MUC 1230-1400 BEG A359 (25/11/19)

TUI8976 MUC 0900-1030 BEG B738 (26/11/19)

TUI8977 BEG 0500-0635 MUC B738 (27/11/19)

LH2571 BEG 1100-1230 MUC A359 (27/11/19)

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Olympiacos Piraeus

Spurs have a new manager in José Mourinho. He will be put to the test right away, facing a very tricky opposition in Olympiacos, who are traveling as usual, with Aegean Airlines:

AEE4010 ATH 1000-xxxx STN A320 (25/11/19)

Group C

Atalanta Bergamo vs. Dinamo Zagreb

OU8392 ZAG 1000-xxxx MXP A320 (25/11/19)

Manchester City vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

PQ8301 KBP 1400-1740 MAN B738 (24/11/19)

Group D

Juventus Turin vs. Atlético Madrid

UX1903 MAD xxxx-1805 TRN B738 (25/11/19)

Insight into R2 first leg travel - UEFA Champions League on 23 & 24 July 2019

23 July 2019

The New Saints vs. FC Kopenhagen

Having beaten the Kosovo champions Feronikeli, New Saints will be up for a different, more difficult challenge this week. The Danish champions FCK will fly to Liverpool on a Danish Air Transport MD-83:

DX3081 CPH 1100-1145 LPL MD83 (22/07/19)

DX3082 LPL 0000-0245 CPH MD83 (24/07/19)

Saburtalo Tbilisi vs. Dinamo Zagreb

Dinamo Zagreb will start their adventure in Georgia, against Saburtalo, who beat Sheriff Tiraspol in the first round last week.

A92808 ZAG 1000-1500 TBS B737 (22/07/19)

A92807 TBS 0200-0330 ZAG B737 (24/07/19)

PSV Eindhoven vs. FC Basel 1893

Round 2 brings some cracking matches already, in the League route, where the runners-up from the Netherlands and Switzerland will face off against each other. With no more charter capacity available in Basel, the Swiss vice-champions are counting on Helvetic Airways for the time being for their away trips:

2L1432 ZRH 0830-0915 BSL E190 HB-JVT (22/07/19, ferry flt)

2L8432 BSL 1000-xxxx EIN E190 HB-JVT (22/07/19)

2L1433 EIN xxxx-1325 ZRH E190 HB-JVT (22/07/19, ferry flt)

2L1434 ZRH xxxx-xxxx EIN E190 (24/07/19, ferry flt)

2L8435 EIN xxxx-1425 BSL E190 (24/07/19)

2L1435 BSL 1505-xxxx ZRH E190 (24/07/19, ferry flt)

Viktoria Plzen vs. Olympiacos Piraeus

Another match-up of runners-up takes place in Plzen, where Viktoria Plzen and Olympiacos Piraeus will try to end others' hopes of making the Champions League group stage once again:

AEE4010 ATH 1000-1140 PRG A320 (22/07/19)

Sutjeska Niksic vs. APOEL Nicosia

APOEL will once again travel early, making use of some spare time of one of Aegean Airlines' A320s that are based in Cyprus:

AEE4950 LCA 2355-xxxx(+1) TGD A320 (21/07/19)

24 July 2019

CFR Cluj vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv

ED1155 TLV 0850-xxxx CLJ B738 (23/07/19)

UEFA CL, GS MD4, 31 October - 1 November 2017

31 October 2017

Group A

Manchester United vs. SL Benfica

Benfica is having a campaign to forget so far, with home losses against CSKA and Manchester United as well as an absolute hammering in a lacklustre display away at FC Basel. They will be looking to improve at Old Trafford and they will travel there on a EuroAtlantic Boeing 767-300/ER (as reported by AlphaFive from Manchester):

MMZ621 LIS 0935-1215 MAN B763 (30/10/17)
EI2216 DUB 1450-1555 MAN A320 EI-DEP
EI2217 MAN 2330-0015(+1) DUB A320 EI-DEP 
MMZ**** MAN 2345-xxxx(+1) LIS B763

FC Basel vs. CSKA Moscow

The Russian runners-up have some ground to make up after a disappointing home loss. Basel in the meantime could already secure their progress into the knock-out stages of either the Champions or the Europa League, depending on how the other match in the group goes. CSKA Moscow normally travel with their special painted Aeroflot Airbus A320 VP-BWD, but for now things look differently:

SU7098 SVO 0940-1110 BSL A320 VQ-BIU (30/10/17)

SU7099 BSL 1255-xxxx SVO A320 VQ-BIU (30/10/17, ferry flt)

SU7098 SVO xxxx-0840 BSL A320 VP-BME (01/11/17)

SU7099 BSL 0940-xxxx SVO A320 VP-BME (01/11/17)

Group B

Celtic Glasgow vs. FC Bayern München

Glasgow appears to be a destination the Bayern fans have a lot of appetite for. While on the pitch things should work fairly smoothly for the German champions, their plan to travel with no less than seven aircraft is rather surprising for an outfit that tends to move through competitions with high self-assurance. Team and staff travel with Lufthansa as usual while for the numerous supporters there are flights planned with Condor, Enter Air and Germania:

LH2572 MUC 0800-0925 GLA A320 (30/10/17)
LH2570 MUC 1200-1325 GLA A321 (30/10/17)
LH2520 MUC 1515-1640 GLA A20N (30/10/17)
LH2521 GLA 1820-2135 MUC A320 (30/10/17, ferry flt)
DE9132 MUC 0900-1030 GLA B753
ENT516 MUC 0900-1030 GLA B738
ENT585 MUC 0900-1030 GLA B738
ST2424 MUC 0930-1100 GLA
DE9133 GLA 0145-0505 MUC B753 (01/11/17)
LH2571 GLA 1400-1715 MUC A321 (01/11/17)

Group C

Atlético Madrid vs. FK Qarabag Agdam

The goalless draw away in Baku would have left Atléti frustrated though for the Azeri debutants this was a performance to build on, particularly having played part of the game with ten men only. Qarabag will be traveling with no less than one of Azerbaijan Airlines' two Airbus A340-500s, just as Atléti did when they visited the Azeri capital:

AHY5003 GYD 1500-1900 MAD A345 (29/10/17)
AHY5004 MAD 0040-0910 GYD A345 4K-AZ85 (01/11/17)

AS Roma vs. Chelsea

ZT780Y STN 1145-1200 LGW B752 G-POWH (30/10/17, ferry flt)
ZT7801 LGW 1430-1745 FCO B752 G-POWH (30/10/17)
ZT780W FCO 1850-xxxx MAN B752 G-POWH (30/10/17, ferry flt)

Group D

Olympiacos Piraeus vs. FC Barcelona

In torrid times for Catalunya, FC Barcelona is looking to travel to Greece using foreign means. Portuguese ACMI specialist HiFly is their choice for the game, most likely providing them with an A340-300, though their A340-500 CS-TFX looks a good chance too, having returned to its home base in Beja after flying for Avianca for a few days:

HFY912 BCN 0930-xxxx ATH A343 (30/10/17)
ENT547 BCN 0800-1200 ATH B738 SP-ENU

HFY921 ATH 0115-0315 BCN A343 (01/11/17)

Sporting Lisbon vs. Juventus Turin

AP5561 TRN 1500-1700 LIS B738 (30/10/17)
AP5562 LIS 1050-xxxx TRN B738 (01/11/17)

1 November 2017

Group E

Liverpool FC vs. NK Maribor

The Slovenian participants travel to Merseyside looking to stage an unlikely comeback after a 7-0 home defeat against Liverpool. Traveling seems to have been fairly complicated though. The Adria Airways A319 S5-AAR, initially due to carry the team to Liverpool returned to Ljubljana to subsequently do a regular flight to Frankfurt. Airbus A320 of BH Air was summoned to take over and took the team to Liverpool with a delay of more than seven hours on the night before the game:

JP943 MBX 1000-1115 LPL A319 A320 LZ-BHJ (31/10/17)
ENT568P AJA 2230-2345 MBX B738 SP-ENR (31/10/17, ferry flt)
ENT595 MBX 0800-0915 LPL B738 SP-ENR
JP945 LPL 2355-0305(+1) MBX (01/11/17)
ENT596 LPL 0015-0320 MBX B738 (02/11/17)

Sevilla CF vs. Spartak Moscow

Having traveled with Aeroflot before, Rossiya appears to be the airline of choice for the Russian champions Spartak this time. The game at Pizjuan should be no walk in the park for them, for the Sevilla side will be fired up after losing so badly in Moscow:

SDM5783 SVO 1435-1755 SVQ A319 (31/10/17)

SDM5782 SVQ 1200-1915 SVO A319 (02/11/17)

Group F

SSC Napoli vs. Manchester City

AWC780W FCO 1850-xxxx MAN B752 G-POWH (30/10/17, ferry flt)
AWC**** MAN xxxx-xxxx NAP B752 G-POWH (31/10/17)
BY8168 MAN 0700-xxxx NAP
LS6435 MAN 0730-xxxx NAP

Group G

FC Porto vs. RB Leipzig

The debutants from Germany scored their first win of the campaign last time out when they faced Porto at home. The Estadio do Dragao will provide them with another challenge however, facing a Porto side that will be determined not to let the own home supporters down. The support for Leipzig should be fairly vocal too though, with some supporters traveling to Portugal with a TUI B737-800:

LG7731 LEJ xxxx-1315 OPO B738 (31/10/17)

LG7732P OPO 1330-xxxx FAO B738 (31/10/17, ferry flt)

TUI8902 LEJ xxxx-1110 OPO B738 (01/11/17)

TUI8903 OPO 0150-xxxx LEJ B738 (02/11/17)

LG7731P LUX xxxx-1115 OPO B738 (02/11/17, ferry flt)

LG7732 OPO 1315-xxxx LEJ B738 (02/11/17)

Group H

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Real Madrid

IB2800 MAD 1100-1230 LTN A321 (31/10/17)
UX951 MAD 0730-0850 LGW B738

IB2801 LTN xxxx-0255 MAD A321 (02/10/17)

Borussia Dortmund vs. APOEL Nicosia

CO7744 LCA xxxx-1305 DTM A319 5B-DCU (31/10/17)
AEE4910 LCA xxxx-1310 DTM A320 SX-DGR (31/10/17)

UEFA CL, GS MD3, 17-18 October 2017

17 October 2017

Group E

Spartak Moscow vs. Sevilla CF

PVG1905 SVQ 1300-1930 SVO B763 EC-LZO (15/10/17)

PVG2005 SVO 0230-0630 SVQ B763 EC-LZO (18/10/17)

NK Maribor vs. Liverpool FC

ZT7951 LPL 1100-1435 MBX B733 G-POWC (16/10/17)
GNJ57 LPL 1230-1605 MBX B752 SX-RFA (16/10/17)
ZT7951 MBX 0045-0200 LPL B733 G-POWC (18/10/17)
ZT795W LPL 0310-0400 STN B733 G-POWC (18/10/17, ferry flt)
GNJ57 MBX 0045-0200 LPL B752 SX-RFA (18/10/17)
GNJ57 LPL 0300-0330 BHX B752 SX-RFA (18/10/17, ferry flt)

Group F

Feyenoord Rotterdam vs. Shakhtar Donezk

7W7737 KBP 0900-1115 RTM A321 SX-ABQ (16/10/17)

- thank you Rudi!

Manchester City vs. SSC Napoli

AP5691 NAP xxxx-1715 MAN B738 EI-IAS (16/10/17)
ENT593 NAP 1300-1400 MAN B738 SP-ENV (17/10/17)

Group G

AS Monaco vs. Besiktas Istanbul

XD1903 IST xxxx-1410 NCE A320 (16/10/17)

RB Leipzig vs. FC Porto

HFY671P BYJ xxxx-1750 OPO A343 (15/10/17, ferry flt)

HFY611 OPO 0915-xxxx LEJ A343 (16/10/17)

HFY612 LEJ xxxx-0305 OPO A343 (17/10/17)

Group H

Real Madrid vs. Tottenham Hotspur

AWC7831 STN 1215-1515 MAD B752 G-POWH (16/10/17)
ST6364 STN xxxx-xxxx MAD A319 LZ-AOA
ENT691 STN xxxx-xxxx MAD B738 SP-ENT
ENT692 MAD 2345-xxxx(+1) STN B738 SP-ENT

AWC7832 MAD 0045-xxxx STN B752 G-POWH (18/10/17)

ST6365 MAD 0100-xxxx STN A319 LZ-AOA (18/10/17)

Bizjets:
- 9H-BOO, Air X, CL-850 (LTN-MAD-LTN)

APOEL Nicosia vs. Borussia Dortmund

EW1909 DTM 0900-1355 LCA A320 (16/10/17)

18 October 2017

Group A

CSKA Moscow vs. FC Basel

2L1654 BRN xxxx-0645 BSL E190 (17/10/17, ferry flt)

2L6654 BSL 0745-1200 SVO E190 (17/10/17)

2L1655 SVO 1305-xxxx ZRH E190 (17/10/17, ferry flt)

PAV4949 BLL xxxx-0700 BSL CRJ2 (17/10/17, ferry flt)

PAV4949 BSL 0800-1200 SVO CRJ2 (17/10/17)
GM3233 SVO 1855-2130 BSL A319 (19/10/17)

SL Benfica vs. Manchester United

ZT800Y STN 1215-1300 MAN B752 G-ZAPX (16/10/17, ferry flt)
ZT8001 MAN 1500-xxxx LIS B752 G-ZAPX (16/10/17)
ENZ834 MAN 0900-xxxx LIS RJ1H G-JOTS (17/10/17)
LS6463 MAN 0815-1050 LIS B752 G-LSAH
LS6457 MAN 0800-1100 LIS
LS6421 MAN 0800-1120 LIS B738 G-GDFF

Group B

FC Bayern München vs. Celtic Glasgow

ABR495 GLA 0945-xxxx MUC B733 (17/10/17)
LS6427 GLA 1000-1325 MUC B733 (17/10/17)

LS6433 GLA 1500-1825 MUC B733 (17/10/17)
FR7800 GLA 0800-1125 MUC B738

LS6449 GLA 0820-1135 MUC B738

LS6428 MUC 1500-1620 GLA (19/10/17)

Group C

FK Qarabag Agdam vs. Atletico Madrid

AHY1902 GYD 0450-0900 MAD A345 (16/10/17, ferry flt)

AHY1903 MAD 1200-1940 GYD A345 (16/10/17)

AHY2003 GYD xxxx-0415 MAD (19/10/17)

AHY2004 MAD 0515-xxxx GYD (19/10/17, ferry flt)

Chelsea vs. AS Roma

AZ8950 FCO 1530-1720 STN A320 EI-DTL (17/10/17)

Group D

FC Barcelona vs. Olympiacos Piraeus

AEE4010 ATH xxxx-1950 BCN A320 (16/10/17)

AEE4011 BCN 0030-xxxx ATH A320 (19/10/17)

Juventus Turin vs. Sporting Lisbon

YU621 LIS xxxx-1800 TRN B763 (17/10/17)

UEFA CL, play-off return leg, 22-23 August 2017

The ten remaining participants of the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League were decided over two days with five matches each night. It was another round that brought about some notable charter flying, with TSG Hoffenheim travelling to Liverpool accompanied by a lot of supporters and Celtic Glasgow going very far towards the East, playing away at Kazakhstan's champions FC Astana.

22 August 2017

Sevilla CF vs. Istanbul Basaksehir

Sevilla sat on what seemed a comfortable lead from the first leg, but Basaksehir came twice within on goal of reaching the Champions League for the first time in their young club history. A 2-2 draw meant Sevilla reached the group stage, while Basaksehir played on in the Europa League.

TK3381 IST xxxx-1330 SVQ B738 (21/08/17)

TK3382 SVQ 0100-xxxx IST B738 (23/08/17)

HNK Rijeka vs. Olympiacos

The hosts had only managed to turn around the first leg fixture in the second half and thanks to an injury time goal by Romao they took a 2-1 lead onto the road. In Rijeka's nice stadium setting, they made no mistake however. Former German international turned journeyman Marko Marin scored one more goal for Olympiacos who thus reached the group stage.

AEE4010 ATH 1100-xxxx RJK A320 (21/08/17)

FC Astana vs. Celtic Glasgow

There could have been no doubts about the outcome of this tie. The first leg at Celtic Park had ended with a thumping 5-0 victory for Celtic who had already eliminated Linfield from Northern Ireland and Norwegian champions Rosenborg BK in previous rounds. Astana gave it a good whack, leading 4-1 at one point, but would still have required another three goals from there. The final result of 4-3 meant that Celtic went on to play in the Champions League. Aeronexus' Boeing 767-300/ER was their aircraft of choice for the long flight to Astana.

ARN01A GLA 1400-xxxx TSE B763 ZS-NEX (20/08/17)
ARN01A TSE 0200-0245 GLA B763 ZS-NEX (23/08/17)

OGC Nice vs. SSC Napoli

The Italians proved just one step too far for the Nice team coached by the Swiss Lucien Favre. Napoli had won the first leg at home 2-0 and went on to win in Nice by the same result.

TDR308 NAP 1700-1815 NCE F100 9A-BTD (21/08/17)

23 August 2017

Liverpool FC vs. TSG Hoffenheim

In their biggest match to that date, the upstarts of Hoffenheim faced Liverpool at Anfield Road, and seemingly played up the hill. Liverpool decided to not only defend the lead from the first leg, but to build on it. Within 20 minutes, Liverpool were three goals ahead and finally won the game 4-2, advancing to the Champions League group stage. It was the beginning of big things for Liverpool, who went to play in two successive finals of the competition. Hoffenheim played on in the Europa League, but finished last in their pool.

The game is remembered for a rare occurrence of a Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 that was called upon to take supporters across the channel, to Manchester in this case. There was a considerable number of other supporters flights too, with Eurowings' A320 and some corporate jets related to TSG Hoffenheim's owner.

LH342 FRA 1130-1215 MAN A333 (22/08/17)

LH343 MAN 1345-1625 FRA A333 (22/08/17, ferry flt)
MHV1899 MHG 1240-1340 LPL D328 D-CIRJ (22/08/17)
EW5218 FKB 1025-1130 MAN A320 (23/08/17)
SCR064 ??? xxxx-1145 LPL C525
D-CMHS ??? xxxx-1240 LPL C25B
D-IWPS ??? xxxx-1255 LPL C25A
MHV200 ??? xxxx-1430 LPL C25A D-IMHA

EW5219 MAN 0320-0615 FKB A320 (23/08/17)
MHV1899 LPL 0945-xxxx MHG D328 D-CIRJ (24/08/17)

LH342 FRA 0945-1030 MAN A333 (24/08/17, ferry flt)

LH343 MAN 1200-1440 FRA A333 (24/08/17)

A Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 arriving at Frankfurt in 2009. Only rarely have such aircraft been used for sports charter duties. 

FC Kobenhavn vs. FK Qarabag Agdam

The champions of Azerbaijan counted on Azerbaijan Airlines as usual for their trip to Copenhagen. At the Parken, they were determined to defend their 1-0 lead from the first leg at home and did well. Dino Ndlovu scored their very important away goal after a bit more than 60 minutes. They may have lost the game 2-1, but still qualified for the Champions League.

AHY5015 GYD 1730-2045 CPH A319 4K-8888 (21/08/17)

CSKA Moscow vs. BSC Young Boys

90 minutes were up in the first leg, when Young Boys' Kasim Nuhu turned a scoreless draw into a win for CSKA by virtue of scoring a slapstick own goal. The task proved too tough for the Swiss vice-champions once again, but at least the next season, they would finally make the cut.

2L6652 BRN xxxx-1740 SVO E190 (21/08/17)

2L1653 SVO 1915-xxxx BRN E190 (21/08/17, ferry flt)

FC Steaua Bucharest vs. Sporting CP

FCSB would have been hopeful after a first leg without any goals on either side. And at home they had a good start against Sporting, only to concede a first goal after 13 minutes. They managed to equalise the game soon after that, but in the second half, the floodgates opened seriously. Sporting won 5-1 and qualified for the Champions League.

PVG7991 LIS 1400-2130 OTP (21/08/17)