UEFA Champions League REVIEW 19 Aug 2026: Hapoel Fight Back to Beat Sabah, Celtic Rout LASK 3-0

Hapoel Be'er Sheva came from behind to beat Sabah Baku 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League play-off, played at the Rapid-Giulesti Stadium in Bucharest rather than in Israel. Veljko Simić put the Azerbaijani champions ahead after six minutes, but Javon East levelled for Hapoel on 43 and Igor Zlatanović struck the winner on 79. The sides meet again in Baku on 25 August, with the winners of the tie going into the Champions League league phase and the losers into the Europa League.

Celtic were the night's most emphatic winners, beating LASK 3-0 at Celtic Park. Benjamin Nygren opened the scoring on 26 minutes, Camilo Durán doubled the lead on 38, and Durán added his second on 67 to finish it. Martin O'Neill's side were beaten at this stage last season by Kairat Almaty, and the manager had said beforehand that he expected the Austrian champions to be harder work than that: "With respect to Kairat Almaty, from what I saw last year, I think this tie will be more difficult," he said. "They are very big and strong." The return is in Linz on 25 August.

Bodo/Glimt won 3-1 at NEC Nijmegen, and were three up before the home crowd had anything to cheer. Sondre Fet put the Norwegians ahead after 25 minutes, Andreas Helmersen doubled it from the penalty spot on 44, and Haitam Aleesami made it three on 50 before Clement Bischoff pulled one back for Nijmegen on 85. The second leg is in Bodo on 25 August.

Slovan Bratislava and Celje shared a 1-1 draw at Tehelne Pole. Roman Čerepkai put the hosts ahead on 15 minutes before Milot Avdyli equalised for the Slovenian champions on 41. The two have met in this competition before, Slovan winning 6-1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round two years ago, and Celje are a tie away from becoming only the second Slovenian club after Maribor to reach the Champions League main phase. They finish it in Celje on 26 August.