<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>
Paris (AFP) – Benfica cruised into the group stage of the Champions League after overrunning Dynamo Kyiv 3-0 in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday thanks to David Neres’ assist and goal.
The two-time European champions from Portugal will be in the draw on Thursday while Dynamo will be in the Europa League.
Domestic top-flight football, which had been suspended since Russia’s invasion in February and during the ongoing war, returned to Ukraine earlier on Tuesday.
The Dynamo players, who begin their league campaign on Sunday, took to the pitch at the Estadio da Luz draped in the Ukrainian flag in a message of support to their compatriots back home.
Dynamo were already trailing 2-0 from the first leg and they were always on the back foot against last season’s quarter-finalists.
Former Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi’s emphatic header put Benfica ahead on the night in the 27th minute in front of a crowd of more than 58,000 from a Neres cross.
Rafa Silva netted next for the Portuguese side and Brazilian forward Neres swept the ball into the net after a flowing move before half-time.
In the second half Enzo Fernandez’s close-range effort was saved by Dynamo goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan as Benfica wrapped up a convincing 5-0 aggregate win.
Elsewhere, Milan Pavkov’s 90th minute own goal secured Maccabi Haifa’s spot as they beat Red Star Belgrade 5-4 over two legs.
Jan Kliment’s 73rd minute effort booked Viktoria Plzen’s place in the draw as they beat Azeris Qarabag 2-1 on aggregate.
On Wednesday, former two-time champions PSV Eindhoven host Rangers with the tie at 2-2, Copenhagen head to Trabzonspor with a 2-1 lead and Bodo/Glimt go to Dinamo Zagreb with a 1-0 advantage.

Benfica's Neres ends Dynamo Kyiv's Champions League hopes - World Soccer Talk

Benfica's Neres ends Dynamo Kyiv's Champions League hopes

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>
Paris (AFP) – Two-time former champions Benfica will play Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv while Ruud van Nistelrooy’s PSV Eindhoven will face Glasgow Rangers after they all qualified for the final Champions League qualifying play-off round on Tuesday.
Luuk De Jong claimed an 109th-minute winner as PSV Eindhoven edged Monaco 3-2 in extra-time in the Netherlands, to go through 4-3 on aggregate.
Monaco had been awakened overnight when fireworks were set off outside their hotel, and there was a fiery atmosphere inside a packed stadium in a see-saw match.
Joey Veerman fired the Dutch ahead on 21mins with a sweet shot into the far corner but Guillermo Maripan then levelled clinically with a cool finish in a goalmouth scramble.
Monaco striker Wissam Ben Yedder then raced on to a sweeping through ball to smack home the go-ahead goal before PSV grabbed a late equaliser as Mexican Erick Gutierrez delivered PSV on 89 minutes.&nbsp;
Benfica beat &nbsp;Mitjylland 3-1 to win 7-2 on aggregate thanks largely to midfielder Enzo Fernandez and 20-year-old striker Henrique Araujo who scored before Pione Sisto responded for the Danes.
Argentinian Fernandez, 21, and Araujo were making just their second European appearances as Diogo Goncalves claimed the third goal for the 1961 and 1962 winners.
In Scotland Malik Tillman completed a turn around when he scored the decider with 11 minutes left as Rangers beat Union Saint-Gilloise 3-0.
The Belgian outfit had won the first leg 2-0 in their first appearance in European competition since 1964-65.
Kostiantyn Vivcharenko and Viktor Tsygankov guided Dynamo Kiyv past Austrians Sturm Graz 3-1 over two ties with efforts in extra time.
Dynamo were second in the Ukrainian Premier League when Russia invaded the country earlier this year.
Earlier, Moldovans Sheriff Tiraspol, who stunned Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu during last season’s group stages, were knocked out by Viktoria Plzen as the Czech outfit won 4-2 over two legs.
The first leg of the play-offs take place on August 16/17 with the return fixtures a week later.

Benfica, Kyiv, Eindhoven and Rangers into Champions League play-offs - World Soccer Talk

Benfica, Kyiv, Eindhoven and Rangers into Champions League play-offs

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>
Istanbul (AFP) – Ukraine’s envoy to Turkey on Thursday expressed “sadness” over a chant of “Vladimir Putin” that rang out at a Champions League qualifying round football match in Istanbul involving Dynamo Kyiv.
Images on social media showed a section of Fenerbahce’s packed stadium singing the Russian president’s name in response to Dynamo’s first goal against the Istanbul side on Wednesday.
The Ukrainians won the match 2-1 after drawing 0-0 in the home leg played in Poland because of Russia’s invasion.
They now progress to the third round of qualifying while Fenerbahce are knocked out.
The chant appeared to be an attempt by Fenerbahce’s supporters to goad Dynamo’s fans at the park after the opening goal.
“Football is a fair game. Yesterday Dynamo Kyiv were stronger,” Ukraine’s ambassador Vasyl Bodnar tweeted.
“It is very sad to hear the words of support from Fenerbahce’s fans for a Russian murderer and aggressor who bombed our country,” Bodnar wrote.
“I am grateful to the friendly Turkish people for their support of Ukraine and for their consideration of the inappropriate actions of the fans.”
Ukraine was able to repel Russia’s attempt to seize Kyiv in the first weeks of its invasion five months ago.
Putin has questioned the Ukrainian nation’s right to exist and branded its leaders as “Nazis” who must be deposed.
The war has claimed thousands of lives and featured relentless missile and rocket attacks against Ukrainian cities that have killed civilians daily.
Turkey has tried to stay neutral in the conflict despite its membership of the US-led NATO defence alliance.
Dynamo’s irate Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu refused to attend the mandatory post-match press conference in protest.
“I did not expect such a chant,” he said in a statement released to Turkish media. “It is a pity.”

– Free Turkish drone –

Turkey is generally popular among many Ukrainians because of its military support for Kyiv’s Western-backed government.
The Ukrainian army has used Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 combat drones to attack Russian armoured columns and slow the Kremlin’s push into the Donbas war zone in the east.
Ukraine now has a “Bayraktar” radio station and the drones feature in popular songs.
The private company said on Thursday it was donating another drone to Ukraine in response to a fundraising effort in Poland aimed at raising millions of dollars for the purchase of one of the unmanned aerial vehicles on Kyiv’s behalf.
The Ukrainian ambassador thanked Turkey’s drone makers in another tweet.
“Bayraktar will remain a symbol of friendship between our countries for many years,” Bodnar wrote.
But Turkish media report Putin has suggested to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Russia — in search of better combat drone support — start producing the Bayraktars to help its own war effort.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not deny the offer when asked about it by reporters on Wednesday.
“Military and technological cooperation is always on the two countries’ agenda,” Peskov said.

Ukraine laments 'Vladimir Putin' chant at Istanbul match - World Soccer Talk

Ukraine laments 'Vladimir Putin' chant at Istanbul match

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>
Istanbul (AFP) – Ukraine’s envoy to Turkey on Thursday expressed “sadness” over a chant of “Vladimir Putin” that rang out at a Champions League qualifying round football match in Istanbul involving Dynamo Kyiv.
Images on social media showed a section of Fenerbahce’s packed stadium singing the Russian president’s name in response to Dynamo’s first goal against the Istanbul side on Wednesday.
The Ukrainians won the match 2-1 after drawing 0-0 in the home leg played in Poland because of Russia’s invasion.
They now progress to the third round of qualifying while Fenerbahce are knocked out.
The chant appeared to be an attempt by Fenerbahce’s supporters to goad Dynamo’s fans at the park after the opening goal.
“Football is a fair game. Yesterday Dynamo Kyiv were stronger,” Ukraine’s ambassador Vasyl Bodnar tweeted.
“It is very sad to hear the words of support from Fenerbahce’s fans for a Russian murderer and aggressor who bombed our country,” Bodnar wrote.
“I am grateful to the friendly Turkish people for their support of Ukraine and for their consideration of the inappropriate actions of the fans.”
Ukraine was able to repel Russia’s attempt to seize Kyiv in the first weeks of its invasion five months ago.
Putin has questioned the Ukrainian nation’s right to exist and branded its leaders as “Nazis” who must be deposed.
The war has claimed thousands of lives and featured relentless missile and rocket attacks against Ukrainian cities that have killed civilians daily.
Turkey has tried to stay neutral in the conflict despite its membership of the US-led NATO defence alliance.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Putin for the first time since Russia’s invasion in Tehran last week.
He is due to meet the Russian leader again at his Black Sea resort retreat in Sochi on August 5.
Dynamo Kyiv and fellow Ukrainian league leaders Shakhtar Donetsk have played a series of friendly matches across Europe aimed at raising money for families impacted by the war.
Shakhtar’s friendly in June against Fenerbahce in Istanbul was attended by numerous Ukrainians who have come to Turkey to escape the war.
“I did not expect such a chant,” Dynamo’s Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu told Turkish media. “It is a pity.”

Ukraine voices 'sadness' over 'Vladimir Putin' chant in Istanbul - World Soccer Talk

Ukraine voices 'sadness' over 'Vladimir Putin' chant in Istanbul

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>
Warsaw (AFP) – Dynamo Kyiv, Ukraine’s most successful football club, began a tour of Europe to help raise funds for the war-torn country with a friendly against Legia Warsaw in Poland on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian league did not resume after the winter break and has been put on hold indefinitely following the invasion by Russia on February 24.
Players from both clubs, draped in Ukrainian flags, observed a minute’s silence before kick-off for the victims of the conflict.
The game was attended by a crowd upwards of 20,000, with a huge “Stop the War” banner displayed across one end of the ground. Other signs read “Stop Russia Now”.
Money collected will be donated to organisations helping the millions of Ukrainians who have fled their homes.
Dynamo, the 16-time Ukrainian champions, won the match 3-1.
The team is due to travel to Istanbul to play against Galatasaray before making a trip to Bucharest.
The club has said it could also arrange games with the likes of Manchester City, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan.

Benfica's Neres ends Dynamo Kyiv's Champions League hopes

benfica