Ajax advance in style but Chelsea made to sweat

Former European champions Ajax, Chelsea and FCSB all survived qualifying in lesser European competitions on Thursday.

Four-time champions Ajax cruised through in the second-tier Europa League.

Kian Fitz-Jim, Kenneth Taylor and Brian Brobbey scored as Ajax beat Jagiellonia from Poland, 3-0, to follow a comfortable victory in the first leg in Bialystok and advance 7-1 on aggregate.

Romanian club FCSB, who won the 1986 European Cup as Steaua Bucharest, squeaked through when Darius Olaru scored in added time to secure a 1-0 home victory over LASK from Austria and a 2-1 aggregate win.

In Istanbul, Ciro Immobile took his total to six goals in three games since moving to Turkey, scoring twice as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Besiktas thrashed Lugano from Switzerland 5-1 for an 8-4 aggregate win in the Europa League.

Chelsea, slumming in the third-tier Conference League and two goals up from the first leg against Servette, made eight changes from the team that crushed Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday.

When Christophe Nkunku converted a penalty after 17 minutes in Geneva the Londoners seemed in control.

Centre forward Jeremy Guillemenot fired low past goalie Filip Jorgensen before half time and leve Enzo Crivelli came off the bench to head a Servette second with 18 minutes to play.

Servette won 2-1, but Chelsea squeaked through 3-2 on aggregate.

“In the first half an hour we scored the goal and we had three or four more chances that if we were able to score, the game is finished, and then we conceded the goal,” said Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca. “In the end, we deserved it.

“This kind of game at the end, you have many things to lose and not many things to win.”

Last year’s beaten finalists Fiorentina survived two red cards to beat Puskas Akademia on penalties in Felcsut.

Fiorentina squandered a two-goal lead in the first leg and did the same on Thursday. Moises Kean gave them a 59th minute lead, then Fiorentina’s discipline disappeared.

In the seventh minute of added time Luca Ranieri fouled substitute Lamin Colley conceding a penalty and earning a red card. Zsolt Nagy converted to send the match to extra time.

In the 97th minute Pietro Comuzzo earned a second yellow card, both for fouls on Englishman Colley. Fiorentina survived the rest of extra time with nine men and won the shootout 5-4 because goalkeeper David de Gea saved Roland Szolnoki’s kick.

Welsh team New Saints reached the Conference League group stage after drawing 0-0 at home with Lithuanians Panevezys, but led 3-0 from the first leg.

Larne from Northern Ireland needed a hat-trick of penalties from Andrew Ryan as they fought back with 10 men to beat Red Imps from Gibraltar.

Bernardo Lopes put the visitors ahead on the night and two-up on aggregate in the 20th minute. Ryan replied three times from the spot, the last coming after Christopher Gallagher was sent off just before the hour.

AFP