Bodø/Glimt and Celtic take big strides toward Champions League group stage, Dambrauskas' side must fight back

In the opening matches of the Champions League play-off round, last season's round-of-16 side Bodø/Glimt and Glasgow's Celtic put themselves in strong positions ahead of the second legs. The Norwegian club beat NEC Nijmegen 3:1 away in the Netherlands, while Celtic thrashed Austria's LASK Linz 3:0 at home.

For Bodø/Glimt, goals came from Sondre Fet, Andreas Helmersen (from the penalty spot) and Haitam Aleesami, while the home side's only goal arrived through 20-year-old Dane Clement Bischoff eight minutes from time. The first half was evenly contested, but Bodø/Glimt scored three times within a 25-minute spell after the break to build a comfortable cushion before the return leg.

Against Linz, Celtic's goals came from Swede Benjamin Nygren and Colombian Camilo Durán, who both scored twice, including a combined effort in the 67th minute. LASK goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo saved all eight shots on target he faced, but could do nothing about the precise deliveries that led to Celtic's goals. Linz, despite scoring 16 goals across four matches at the start of their domestic season, failed to find the net.

Meanwhile in Bucharest, Azerbaijan's Sabah, coached by former RFS player Valdas Dambrauskas, suffered a surprise 1:2 defeat to Israeli champions Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Serbian forward Veljko Simić had put Sabah ahead in the sixth minute, but Jamaican Jevaughn East equalised before halftime, and Serbia's Igor Zlatanović scored the winner in the 79th minute.

In other play-off fixtures, Slovenia's Celje, fielding three Lithuanian players, drew 1:1 with Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava. Return legs are scheduled for next week to determine which clubs advance to the Champions League group stage.