Home comforts help trio close in on Champions League

Former winners Red Star Belgrade are on the verge of missing out on playing in the Champions League group stage after losing the first leg of their play-off tie.

The 1991 champions will head back to Serbia trailing 2-1 after going down to Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.

Odin Bjortuft's brave header in off the underside of the bar put the hosts in front seven minutes into the second half before Isak Dybvik Maatta curled in a brilliant second just after the hour to leave the Norwegian champions on course to reach the competition proper for the first time.

Substitute Ognjen Mimovic's first ever senior goal pulled one back for the visitors to leave the tie delicately poised.

In the Croatian capital, Sandro Kulenovic's late double helped Dinamo Zagreb seal a commanding 3-0 victory over Qarabag.

After Martin Baturina struck the crossbar, Marko Pjaca gave the home side the lead at the second attempt close to the half-hour.

Azerbaijan champions Qarabag subsequently rallied, going close through Patrick Andrade and Juninho shortly before the break. Yassine Benzia then hit the woodwork after the interval before Kulenovic struck twice in six minutes to secure the win.

And in France, Lille built a solid first-leg advantage with a deserved 2-0 victory over Slavia Prague at their temporary Stade du Hainaut home in Valenciennes.

It was Canada striker Jonathan David who put Lille ahead after the restart before he turned provider for Edon Zhegorva to score a glorious second in the closing stages.

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store