The draws for the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round draw have been made, with the likes of Ajax, Steaua, Olympiacos, Shakhtar, Anderlecht and Fenerbahçe joining the fray.
The two draws for the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round have been made.
The first was for the league route, made up of Monaco, the third-placed team in France last season, plus the league runners-up from the European associations ranked seventh to 15th in UEFA’s coefficients.
The second draw was the champions route, involving the 17 winners of the second qualifying round ties (the second legs are next week) plus the champions of Greece, the Czech Republic and Romania.
The victors in both routes advance to the play-offs. Defeated sides transfer to the UEFA Europa League play-off round.
All ties are played 26/27 July & 2/3 August.
League route
Ajax (NED) v PAOK (GRE)
Sparta Praha (CZE) v Steaua București (ROU)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) v Young Boys (SUI)
Rostov (RUS) v Anderlecht (BEL)
Fenerbahçe (TUR) v Monaco (FRA)
Ajax and PAOK met at this stage six years ago, Luis Suárez on target as the Dutch team edged through on away goals after the sides drew 3-3 in Thessaloniki following a 1-1 draw in Amsterdam.
Steaua beat Sparta Praha 7-3 on aggregate in the European Cup first round in 1988/89, going on to reach the final. Marius Lacatus and Gheorghe Hagi both hit three goals across the tie.
