A 2-0 win for Brugge at the Jan Breydelstadion would be enough to take them through at United’s expense (on the away goals rule), but United – three-time winners of the Champions League – are confident after Marouane Fellaini’s late third goal in the first leg.
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Lazio’s win over Bayer Leverkusen in Italy last week was the first win for either side in all previous meetings.
When asked which of the two upcoming clashes he thought was more important, Kramer told the Bundesliga’s official website: “Of course we want to reach the group stages of the Champions League”.
“They’re a good team”, the 49-year-old said. “They are two goals in front and have a very professional team”. They confirmed those features by deservedly beating Hannover [1-0 on Saturday] and they could have scored more. Next week we’ll do tests to determine his recovery time.
“This is only half-time, and we’re aware that we haven’t won anything yet”. Schmidt made it clear in the days leading up the game that an away goal was crucial, but despite creating a number of chances, it never materialised.
“We have to be proactive in order to cause them problems as we have so much quality in our forwards. That is, play to win”. For Lazio, Miroslav Klose’s had an injury in the first leg and was poised to be a disaster game for Lazio.
Lazio, third place finishers in Serie A last season, defeated Leverkusen 1-0 last week at the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg of their qualifying play-off.
“Unfortunately he won’t be on the pitch [Klose], but we have other players with different characteristics who will be trying to do their best in tomorrow’s game”, the Lazio boss said. “He’ll certainly be useful for the team”.
Elsewhere, Sporting Lisbon take a 2-1 lead to Russian Federation against CSKA Moscow in the hope of securing a place in the main draw for the second successive season.
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The Italian side have struggled in Germany, winning once in their last five trips. There appears little between the teams, setting up for a competitive second leg. They take a 1-0 lead to the Cypriot capital Nicosia.
