Champions League: BATE Borisov, Lille, Standard Liege and Maribor reach play-off round
Tuesday 5 August 2014 22:47, UK
Sergey Krivets was the hero for BATE Borisov as he popped up in the final minute to secure a 3-1 home win over Debrecen and a place in the Champions League play-off round.
The Belarusian Premier League outfit, who lost the first leg of their third qualifying-round clash 1-0, were on their way out of the competition on away goals as 10-man Debrecen almost held out at 2-1 before Krivets' late show at the Borisov Gradski Stadium on Tuesday night.
Ibrahima Sidibe's spot-kick had put the visitors in front, but after Selim Bouadla saw red for two yellow cards, Vitali Rodionov and Aleksandr Volodko turned the result around to set the stage for Krivets.
Lille managed to secure their place in the next round with a 1-1 draw to beat Grasshoppers 3-1 on aggregate.
After sealing a 2-0 win in Switzerland, the Ligue 1 outfit always looked comfortable, especially after Florent Balmont nudged them in front, although Amir Abrashi pulled one back for the visitors just after the half-hour mark.
Standard Liege, bidding to return to the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2009-10, scored twice in five minutes to win 2-1 at Panathinaikos.
The reigning Belgian champions, who could only muster a goalless draw on home soil last week, were in trouble when Dino Arslanagic put through his own net after 17 minutes. But quick-fire strikes from Yanis Mbombo and substitute Paul-Jose M'Poku settled the tie before half-time.
Elsewhere, Slovenian outfit Maribor drew 2-2 at Maccabi Tel Aviv, but that was enough to see them through after their 1-0 win in the first leg.
