Zenit, Feyenoord & Celtic disappoint

Zenit, Feyenoord, and Celtic were all considered stronger than AEL Limassol, Besiktas, and Legia Warszawa, but all suffered defeats. Meanwhile, Lille gained a significant advantage going into the second leg after beating Grasshopper 2-0.

Celtic (in dark shirts) suffered a heavy defeat in Poland.

Playing away at AEL Limassol, it seemed that the "Russian giants" Zenit would have little difficulty overcoming the Cypriot representatives. However, on a day when the star-studded team from Russia squandered opportunities, they paid a heavy price with a goal conceded in the 64th minute by Gikiewicz. Three minutes later, Zenit's efforts to find an equalizer were dashed by a red card for midfielder Witsel. The match ended with a 1-0 victory for AEL Limassol.

The most evenly matched game of this round was arguably the clash between Feyenoord and Besiktas. With a sound strategy, the Turkish side quickly "poured cold water" on Feyenoord's fans with a goal from Pektemek (13'). In the 71st minute, Frei doubled the lead for the visitors before Mitchell te Vrede salvaged some hope for the home team in the upcoming second leg with a successful penalty in the final minute.

Meanwhile, Lille needed less than 50 minutes to settle for home side Grasshoppers after brilliant performances from Corchia (29') and Ryan Mendes (49').

Vrdoljak (left) failed to score despite having a very clear chance.

The most notable defeat in this round was Celtic's 1-4 loss to Legia Warszawa, having to play with 10 men early on after Ambrose received a red card in the 44th minute. Celtic took an early lead against Legia Warszawa thanks to McGregor (8'), but in a spectacular performance, the Polish side came back to win 4-1 after brilliant goals from Radovic (10', 36'), Zyro (84'), and Kosecki (90').

However, Celtic also have good fortune to thank, as they could have easily lost by a tennis-like margin if Ivica Vrdoljak had successfully converted his two penalties in the 59th and 87th minutes.

The second leg of the third qualifying round of the Champions League will take place on August 6th and 7th.

Results of the first leg of the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

Aktobe 2 - 2 Steaua Bucuresti
AEL Massachusetts1 - 0 Zenit
Grasshoppers 0 - 2Lille
Feyenoord 1 - 2Besiktas
Standard Liege 0 - 0 Panathinaikos
Legia Warszawa4 - 1 Celtic
FK Karabakh2 - 1 Salzburg
Dnipro 0 - 0 FC Koebenhavn
HJK 2 - 2 APOEL Nicosia
PFC Ludogorets Razgrad 0 - 0 Partizan Belgrade
AaB 0 - 1Dinamo Zagreb
Marmeham1 - 0 Maccabi Tel Aviv

According to Bongdaplus