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This means that extra time and penalty shoot-out is possible to determine the promoted player. For the loser, the ticket to the group stage of the Europa League remains a consolation. With this and a € 3 million buy-in, Rapidler can count on a 1-0 away win last Wednesday against Lok Zagreb in the second qualifying round anyway.
The Champions League play-off for entry to the premier class, to which the champion Red Bull Salzburg joins, will be drawn on Tuesday (12:00 pm) and a round-trip decision will be made at the end of September. There, Rapid’s field of potential opponents is expanding beyond Benfica Lisbon and Dynamo Kiev, including FK Krasnodar, PAOK Saloniki and AZ Alkmaar.
The victory would be worth five million euros
For Rapid it would be their third appearance in the Champions League, so far they have been in the “premier class” in 1996 and 2005. Before that, however, Hütteldorfer must get KAA Gent out of the way. A win over Gent would cost around five million euros, which is what UEFA paid last year to clubs that failed in the Champions League play-off.
Last year, Gent prevailed in the Europa League in a group with VfL Wolfsburg as group champions (three wins, three draws) and then failed in the round of 32 against AS Roma (1: 1, 0: 1 ). In the last duel with a representative from Austria, the only Belgian champion (2015) failed in the third round of the EL 2017/18 qualifying in Altach (1: 1, 1: 3).
False start for Ghent
Promotion chances are not unrealistic for Rapid, after all, Gent started the new season with three losses before a 1-0 win at home against Mechelen on Sunday. The club, which was second in the league before the coronavirus was canceled, is just 14 after four games.
Due to the unsuccessful start, coach Jess Thorup lost his position at Gent on August 20 and was replaced by Romanian Laszlo Bölöni. Georgian forward Giorgi Kvilitaia is under contract with the Belgians, who was signed by Rapid two years ago for a rumored two million euros. The 26-year-old was on the bench in the first league game this season and then no longer appeared in the squad.
Anderson Niangbo, who arrived from Red Bull Salzburg in January, former Freiburg pro Tim Kleindienst and former DFB junior team player Niklas Dorsch are also involved in the 2016 Champions League knockout round. The MVP is Ukrainian striker Roman Yaremchuk, estimated at 9.5 million euros.
Rapid does not “tourism” in Belgium
Rapids sporting director Zoran Barisic was not unhappy with the lot, especially since with Benfica Lisbon and Dynamo Kiev they would have expected more difficult tasks. “Benfica would have been the rival that I would not have liked,” Barisic admitted to “Radio Wien”. “With the necessary commitment and courage, something is possible. We’re certainly not going there on a sightseeing tour. “
Barisic also said: “We want to pass, but we are definitely not the favorites. Our children can play freely and show what they can do. With a little luck it can be done ”. According to Barisic, information has already been collected on Gent, once a Belgian champion (2015) and a three-time cup champion (1964, 1984, 2010). “We have prepared the game against Mechelen and we will be well prepared,” promised the Viennese, who will learn about other possible opponents in the play-off draw on Tuesday en route to the group stage.
“Policemen” begin the play-off
Tuesday will also be interesting for Red Bull Salzburg. The Austrian champions meet in the play-off as the seeded team against a winner of the third qualifying round on the champions route. The nastiest opponents are Young Boys Bern, Red Star Belgrade and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Salzburg team failed in the fight for CL entry in 2009 because of the Israelis and Serbs in 2018. Furthermore, it could also be against Ferencvaros Budapest, Molde FK (NOR), FC Midtjylland (DEN), Karabach Agdam for the team of coach Jesse Marsch (AZE) or Dinamo Brest (BLR) go.
The previous year, the series champions Salzburg qualified directly for the group stage of the Champions League. Prior to that, the club had been eliminated eleven times in the premier class standings since joining Red Bull in 2005. In the event of an out in the third round or play-off, Rapid and Salzburg advance to the group stage of the Europa League. There the third Wolfsberger AC in the league is already a permanent starter.
TSV Hartberg and LASK compete in the Europa League qualification. The Hartbergers are qualified in the second qualifying round of their European Cup debut and face GKS Piast Gliwice (POL) away from home. The LASK will be drawn on Tuesday starting at 1 pm To get to the group stage, Hartberg has to survive three laps from September 17, LASK two laps from September 24. The promotion decision is made in the Europa League qualification in one game only.
