The UEFA Champions League second qualifying round deciders kicked off on Tuesday with five games. Half of the 10 sides involved secured league phase football by progressing to the next round.
Four of the five games on Tuesday saw the overwhelming favourites advance. However, there was one tie that looked far from resolved. That came in Kazakhstan, as Kairat Almaty overturned their 2-0 first leg loss in the opening half against KuPS. Dastan Satpaev got his team on the board less than 10 minutes in, before Jorginho levelled the tie midway through the half.
It was Valeriy Gromyko who got what proved to be the winner a few moments before the break. Despite being behind at that point, the Finnish team were unable to create enough chances in the second 45 to trouble their opponents. It ended 3-2 across the two legs for the Kazakh outfit, who advance to the penultimate qualifying round.
The result secures a second group phase appearance for Kairat, four years on from their only previous one. KuPS will try to join them, though they will have to win at least one more tie to do so.
Elsewhere, Andreas Cornelius scored the only goal in Kosovo as FC Kobenhavn edged Drita 1-0 on the night, and 3-0 on aggregate. The game was tighter this time around, but the Danes still managed to get the job done.
Dynamo Kyiv ended up with two goals in seven minutes as they knocked off Malta's Hamrun Spartans3-0 in Lublin, the same score as the first leg. They are now one step closer to making the UCL proper for the first time since 2021/22. Crvena zvezda are looking to join them, after they defeated Lincoln Red Imps 5-1 at home. Overall, the Serbs prevailed 6-1.
In Bosnia, Zrinjski tried to stage a late comeback against Slovan Bratislava. Goals in the 72nd and 76th minutes gave fans a reason to hope. In the end, Slovan scored two of their own for the match to finish 2-2 on the night, and 6-2 in Slovan's favour.
The remaining games of the second qualifying round take place on Wednesday, as 10 more sides will book their place in the third qualifying round.