Crvena zvezda - Ludogorets 2:4 (2:2)

Champions League will have to wait as Ludogorets beat Zvezda 4-2 (AET) in the Second Leg of the Third Qualifying Round. After a 2-2 draw in Razgrad a week ago, it was the same score at Rajko Mitić Stadium after 90 minutes. But the visitors were dominant in extra time, scoring twice and securing a Play-off spot.

Ground: Rajko Mitić Stadium.
Attendance: 50,000.
Referee: Luca Banti (Italy)
Goalscorers: Donald 17', Ibanez 62' - Cafú 24', Wanderson 40', 92', 97'

Teams:

Crvena zvezda: Kahriman, Cvetković, Rendulić, Phibel, Ibanez, Donald, Le Tallec, Kanga, Srnić, Mouche, Katai. Substitutions: Supić, Petković, Luković, Ristić, Ruiz, Vieira, Sikimić.

Ludogorets: Stoyanov, Natanael, Moţi, Plastun, Minev, Abel, Dyakov, Marcelinho, Cafú, Wanderson, Keșerü. Substitutions: Borjan, Cicinho, Palomino, Júnior Quixadá, Lukoki, Sasha, Misidjan.

Zvezda started the match well cheered on by the packed stadium and were in dreamland after 17 minutes when Mitchell Donald hammered a shot into the Stoyanov net and gave us a 3-2 aggregate lead.

But the visitors never looked intimidated and they managed to level the score on the night just seven minutes later through Jonathan Cafú, who danced through the entire Crvena zvezda defence and beat Kahriman far too easily.

Crvena zvezda were under pressure and they cracked five minutes before the break when Wanderson scored first of his three goals.

Ludogorets' Igor Plastun was sent off after being shown the second yellow just before half-time, and it gave the home fans some hope that Miodrag Božović's men will be in a better position after the restart. But Guélor Kanga was shown a straight red for showing an opponent after the half-time whistle had already gone.

Crvena zvezda players were brave in the second half and their efforts were awarded just after an hour of play. Hugo Vieira, who had only just come on for Srnić, chased a lost cause in the Ludogorets box and was felled by the Bulgarian goalkeeper. Luis Ibanez converted the resulting penalty kick with confidence and the scores were level!

There were half chances for both sides in the remainder of the 90 minutes, but with the players getting increasingly cautious, the tie was heading for extra-time.

Unfortunately, Zvezda had far too little left in the tank and Ludogorets looked in better shape. It showed just three minutes into extra time when Wanderson scored the crucial third away goal for the Razgrad side from what looked like an offside position. The same player soon added another to complete a hat-trick and effectively end the match.

It was a brave effort by the red-and-whites, but it wasn't enough to get into UEFA Champions League. Now the players need to prepare for the coming Europa League Play-off stage and try to reach the group stage of that competition.

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