CSKA AND DYNAMO KIEV TAKE A BIG STRIDE TOWARDS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAYOFF

Yesterday marked the end of a new chapter in one of the hottest talking points of Sevilla FC's summer. On Wednesday night, the first leg of the Champions League third qualifying round ties took place, from which five teams make up the possible opponents for Sevilla FC in the play-off round, which will take place on Friday the 4th of August.

Of these teams, only CSKA Moscow and Dynamo Kiev appear to have taken a significant stride towards advancing, with the Russian side overcoming AEK Athens 2-0 in Greece, and the Ukrainians coming away 3-1 winners against Young Boys. The scoreline may give a false sense of security to Kiev, yet will still give them an advantage in Switzerland nonetheless. There was nothing to separate the other teams, with Steaua drawing 2-2 with Czech side Viktoria Plzen in Romania, Nice and Ajax sharing a 1-1 draw in France, and a 3-3 thriller involving Brugge and İstanbul Başakşehir taking place in Belgium.

Given that Dynamo Kiev are not possible opponents due to their coefficient ranking, and taking into consideration the fact that the draws give more of an advantage to the teams hosting the second leg, right now the three possible adversaries from these ties would be Viktoria Plzen, CSKA Moscow or Istanbul's Basaksehir. They would be joining those who are already in for the draw, Sporting Lisbon and Hoffenheim.