Away-goals victory over Malmo puts Vidi on brink of Champions League

After Dudelange and Ludogorets, Malmo became the latest team to be vanquished by Hungarian champions MOL Vidi in the UEFA Champions League qualification stages following a 0-0 second-leg home draw on Tuesday. Last week had seen Vidi secure a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Sweden and that away goal proved crucial after the second leg too, although this may not have needed to be the case had Pazovic converted a 65th-minute penalty following Malmo goalkeeper Dahlin's foul on Loic Nego, but Dahlin made amends by saving the Serbian striker's effort.

Aside from that golden chance to score, Vidi mainly concentrated on defending their position, Malmo dominating possession but unable to find the goal which would swing the tie back in their direction. Marko Nikolic's side held on though for a goalless draw which secured progression on the away-goals rule. Vidi will now face AEK Athens in the Champions League play-off round after the Greek club defeated 1967 European Cup winners Celtic FC 3-2 on aggregate with both Viki and AEK assured of European football this autumn, the losers dropping into the group stages of the Europa League, UEFA's secondary club competition.

Should Vidi reach the promised land of the Champions League group stages, they would become only the third Hungarian club to have achieved this feat, Ferencváros in 1995/96 and Debrecen in 2009/10 being the first two. The situation regarding the Europa League is similar with Debrecen in 2010 and Videoton in 2012 the only two clubs to have reached the group stages of that tournament. Vidi's home leg with AEK will take place in the Groupama Aréna in Budapest, normally the home of Ferencváros, on 22nd August with the away leg taking place six days later on 28th August in the Greek capital of Athens.

Marko Nikolic, MOL Vidi head coach:

"I think that our performance is a good advert, not just for the club and the players, but for the whole of Hungarian football. Last year we played eight matches in Europe but this season will have featured a minimum of 14 appearances on the European stage. Twenty-two matches in under two years is already something, I think! Certainly, we won't be favourites against AEK but we'll do everything we can, just as we have until now, to achieve a good result in the play-off stage too".