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IN EUROPE: Jens Petter Hauge, Patrick Berg and Bodø / Glimt battle for a place in the Europa League. Photo: Annika Byrde, NTB scanpix
Superb league leaders Bodø / Glimt avoided Milan in the second round of the Europa League playoffs. But it can still be a meeting with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the great Italian club.
On Tuesday the third round of the qualifying rounds will be drawn, and if Bodø / Glimt beat Zalgiris Vilnius at home in the second round, they await Austrian LASK, Greek AEK Athens or the winner of Shamrock Rovers and AC Milan.
In other words, there may still be a settlement against Zlatan Ibrahimovic and company.
Europa League qualifiers the second round was drawn on Monday. This is how the draw for the three Norwegian teams ended:
Viking – Aberdeen (Scotland)
Ventspils (Latvia) – Rosenborg
Bodø / Glimt – Zalgiris Vilnius (Lithuania)
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Before Monday’s second-round draw, Glimt’s player Philip Zinckernagel said they hoped to avoid top teams.
– I would rather have Milan in the group stage than face them in the second round. We got to take the big teams later.
Now it could be Milan in the third qualifying round, if Glimt beat Zalgiris Vilnius at home on September 17.
For the other Norwegian teams, it is RBK that seems to have found the “easier path” to the Europa League. If Rosenborg beat Ventspils, they will face Charleroi of Belgium, Desna Chernihiv of Ukraine or Alanyaspor of Turkey.
On the part of the Vikings, much tougher opposition awaits them, if they recover from the confrontation against Scottish Aberdeen. In the third round await Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven or the winner of Budapest Honvéd and the Swede Malmö.
In the Champions League qualifiers, Molde will face Red Bull Salzburg, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague or the winner of Dinamo Zagreb and Ferencaros in the decisive play-off round, if they beat Qarabag in the third round.
