The second legs of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League play-offs started on Tuesday with Sabah, Bodø/Glimt and LASK the first teams to come through qualifying and progress to the league phase on a dramatic evening.
We round up all the action.
League phase teams
Arsenal (ENG), Aston Villa (ENG), Atlético de Madrid (ESP), Barcelona (ESP), Bayern München (GER), Bodø/Glimt (NOR), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Club Brugge (BEL), Como (ITA), Feyenoord (NED), Galatasaray (TUR), Inter (ITA), LASK (AUT), Leipzig (GER), Lens (FRA), Lille (FRA), Liverpool (ENG), Man City (ENG), Man United (ENG), Napoli (ITA), Paris (FRA), Porto (POR), PSV (NED), Real Betis (ESP), Real Madrid (ESP), Roma (ITA), Sabah (AZE), Shakhtar (UKR), Slavia Praha (CZE), Sporting CP (POR), Stuttgart (GER), Villarreal (ESP)
*Four more teams to be confirmed
Tuesday 25 August
LASK 5-1aet Celtic (agg: 5-4)
LASK sealed their place in a maiden Champions League league phase after producing a memorable comeback to beat Celtic in a dramatic game in Austria.
Martin O’Neill’s side headed into the return with a healthy 3-0 advantage and extended their lead in the first half when Callum McGregor broke the deadlock with a fine strike.
Yet the hosts hit back when Moses Usor showed some quick thinking to pounce on the ball and slot past Viljami Sinisalo in the Celtic goal before Robert Ljubičić’s low shot put the hosts 2-1 up at the start of the second half.
LASK kept pushing and reduced the deficit further when Samuel Adeniran curled home an effort from distance. Florian Flecker’s stoppage-time header then levelled the tie and forced the game into extra time before Adeniran sealed the tie with another low strike to win the tie in the 109th minute.
Key stat: This was LASK’s first victory in in their last 12 UEFA competition matches (D4 L7).
Sabah 5-2aet Hapoel Beer-Sheva (agg: 6-4)
Orphe Mbina and Joy-Lance Mickels scored during extra time as competition debutants Sabah reached the league phase after an extraordinary decider in Baku.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Sabah fell behind on the night when Igor Zlatanović slotted in for Hapoel after ten minutes. The hosts replied through Christian Nwachukwu’s finish in the 37th minute before Guy Mizrahi’s 61st-minute chip restored their opponents’ two-goal aggregate advantage.
After Umarali Rakhmonaliev drove in Sabah’s second with 16 minutes remaining, Tellur Mutallimov drew them level on aggregate with a volley from a corner seconds from the end of second-half stoppage time.
Hapoel’s Djibril Diop was dismissed a minute before Mbina’s header during the first half of extra time, with Eliel Peretz also sent off for the visitors after Mickels struck in the 115th minute.
Key stat: Sabah have won four ties to qualify and join Qarabağ as the only sides from Azerbaijan ever to have qualified for the competition proper.
Bodø/Glimt 3-0 N.E.C. (agg: 6-1)
Bodø secured Champions League football for a second season in a row with a convincing 3-0 victory over N.E.C., completing a 6-1 aggregate success.
N.E.C. goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz was sent off after just three minutes, making it an uphill battle for the visitors. The hosts then controlled the game with patient build-up play and created numerous opportunities, with Fredrik André Bjørkan opening the scoring from Sondre Auklend’s cutback.
Auklend made it two shortly before the break, with a Deveron Fonville own goal completed the scoring.
Key stat: Bodø have scored two or more goals in 11 of their last 12 UEFA competition matches.
What’s next?
The UEFA Champions League league phase draw takes place on Thursday 27 August at 18:00 CET in Monaco.
The first round of league phase games will take place between 8–10 September.
