The Belgians knew very quickly what fate had in store for them as they played host to Fenerbahce in the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, in one of the live football matches of the Champions league qualifiers.

The fans who turned up to watch Champions League live saw Fenerbahce added to their one goal lead from their home leg with a shot from the Fenerbahce striker Kezman and in doing so virtually guaranteed their entry into the group phases of the Champions League. Despite trying to get back into the match they never really looked capable of hitting the back of the visitors net and went further behind on 77 when Alex gave Fenerbahce a 3 goal aggregate lead.

Anderlecht manager Franky Veauteren must be regretting playing with only one recognized striker in this home leg in the shape of Mohamed Tchite, despite having several recognized striking options on the bench. Leaving it until only half an hour to go to bring on his other recognized strikers was too little too late, as they had already lost the match by this time.

For Fenerbahce playing with two recognized strikers worked very well as Kezman was able to take his first opportunity and slot home on 2 minutes to give the Turkish side the advantage of an away goal. Fenerbahce will be looking for a very good tournament with the Brazilian management team of Zico and Edu trying to steer the side to the knock out stages together with the help of players such as new summer signing Roberto Carlos.

Fenerbahce have shown themselves to be deserving of their place in the Champions League and will certainly be no roll over, as Anderlecht found to their cost.

Arsenal 3-0 Sparta Prague (agg: 5-0)

The two away goals at Prague allowed Arsenal to ease their way through to the Champions League in this live football match. Any early goal from Tomas Rosicky on 7, after fine work by Theo Walcott who got to start from the opening whistle, put any doubts to rest for any Prague fans and players who thought that they may be able to stage an upset.

For most of the rest of the match the Czech Champions made a stubborn attempt to save any more changes to the score sheet and to be fair had several chances to score themselves but failed to take their opportunities. With Arsenal cruising through the match it was not until 87 that Arsenal scored their second of the night to take a 4-0 aggregate lead. Eduardo managed to send in a fine cross from the felt which substitute Fabregas buried with a quality strike.

Eduardo himself scored a final goal in the last minute which made the score line look a lot worse than the Sparta Prague had deserved, but the inclusion of Arsenal into the group stage of the Champions League had never really been in doubt after the early goal took the pressure off the home team.

Fans who came to watch Champions League live would have found the Arsenal performance over both the legs very promising for the group stages. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was especially pleased with this performance as the team was almost completely different to the one who brought the two goal lead back to the Emirates Stadium.

Wenger knows that many of the players in the squad have a great deal of experience in this competition and will be hoping that that experience, together with the quality through out the team will be enough to guide them past this group phase and into the knockout stage where they will feel they can match any team.

Besiktas will be very grateful they managed to score an away goal at Zurich and take advantage of this in their home leg. Despite looking like an easy game on paper, Besiktas made hard work of the win in this live football match and until late in the match Zurich could well have been the team to go through to the Champions League.

Only two late goals from Besiktas midfielder Matias Delgado saw off the Zurich team in front of 27 000 fans in the Inonu Stadium who had come to watch champions league football live.

Both team set out to play attacking football and Besiktas manager Ertugrul Saglam will have been grateful to the Turkish fans for their fanatical support, in what turned out to be a very close match between two evenly matched teams. Both teams had several chances to open the scoring in the first half but failed to convert any of their opportunities into a lead.

After a very close first half which ended goalless, Besiktas finally managed to find the back of the Zurich net when midfielder Matias Delgado gave the home team the lead on 57, much to the relief of the home fans. Despite this FC Zurich pushed for the equaliser and were still in with a chance of winning the tie for themselves. However it was Matias Delgado who sealed the game for the home team, when he converted a 66^th minute opportunity to take the Turkish side into the group phase of the Champions League. Despite having finished second in their domestic league Besiktas will be hoping to make an impact in the group phases as they have so far failed to progress past this stage.

Celtic 1-1 Spartak Moscow (agg 2-2) Celtic win 4-3 on penalties

Of all the qualifying matches played so far, this is the one which fans would have wanted to watch champions league football live. The match had promised to be a close affair between two very evenly matched clubs who have quality and experience in the group phases of the Champions League and both understood the consequences of not making it through these qualifying rounds.

Celtic had the advantage of the away goal but for those who watched the first tie they would have known that further goals would be forthcoming in this leg, who they would fall to was a matter of debate.

The 65 000 fans who crammed into Celtic park to watch live champions league football must have feared the worst, when it was the visitors who were awarded an early penalty after the ball was adjudged to have hit defender Mark Wilson’s arm in the penalty area on 26. It was left to Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavluchenko to take the resultant penalty and take his side into a strong position. Unfortunately for him he hit the woodwork and the rebound fell safely to the relief of the Celtic players and crowd.

Only a few minutes later and Spartak were punished for this miss as Scott McDonald scored to send the fans wild in celebrations. He was gifted the ball from Spartak defender Roman Shishkin and slotted the ball past the Spartak keeper. Despite the goal the game was not over and Spartak drew level on the night and on aggregate when Roman Pavluchenko made up for his missed penalty on the stroke of half time when he met a corner at the back post and managed to put the ball in the back of the net. The second half was just as entertaining with both teams having chances to win the match. Spartak had Martin Stranzl sent off on 85 as the last man challenge rule saw them reduced to 10 men. After no further goals extra time was played and on 115 Celtic fans prepared to celebrate when Celtic were awarded a penalty of their own, unfortunately Vennegoor of Hesselink Hit the woodwork and the match entered penalties.

Unfortunately for Spartak Artur Boruc was able to save two of their penalties to take Celtic through 4-3 on penalties and cap a famous European night at Celtic Park.

22 500 Croatian fans crowded into the Maksimir Stadium to watch Champions League football and hopefully see the home team secure they place in the Champions League group phase. Brazilian Ribas Diego converted a 13^th minute penalty after a very controversial decision when Werder striker Hugo Almeida went down after a very soft tackle from the Dinamo Zagreb defence. This was enough to take the Germans into a 1-3 lead, cancelling out Zagreb’s away goal in the process. However Zagreb fought back and earned a goal on 20 through Ognjen Vukojevic, to re kindle their hopes of over coming the German team.

Both teams continued to press and it was Werder Bremen who extended their lead once again on 40 as Boubacar Sanogo was on hand to score from a clearance by the Zagreb keeper Georg Koch. Zagreb were able to pull themselves back again though through Luka Modric who scored from a penalty just after on 42 after Bosko Balaban was tripped in the penalty box. The first half ended with both teams still in with a chance however after the break It was Werder Bremen who sealed their place when Ribas Diego himself was brought down in the penalty area and stood up to convert the resultant penalty.

This live football match although very exciting must have been quite deflating for Zagreb and their supporters, but Werder Bremen will take a great deal of confidence from this victory and hope to progress even further in the Champions League.

The Ukrainian Champions played host to the Bosnian Champions at Valeri Lobanovski Stadium and proceeded to complete the job which they started in the first leg. Dynamo found that they were rarely tested and doubled their lead almost from the start when Ismael Bangoura slotted home to take any thought of an away win form the minds of the visitors. With Dynamo Kiev in a comfortable position they rarely stretched themselves to add to the score line and with Bosnian team unable to make any creative chances on a regular basis the teams really played the clock down. Ismael Bangoura slotted a second goal on 76 to give the home fans some thing for their entrance fee and Serhiy Rebrov added another in the last minute as he converted a late penalty. Both teams by this time had resigned themselves to their respective competitions - Dynamo Kiev to the group phase of the Champions League and the Bosnian Champions FK Sarajevo to the UEFA cup competition.

Kiev will know that bigger challenges lie ahead in the Champions League and will hope to make an impact after many years of qualifying for the competition only to find the knockout stages to be one step too far for them.

FC Copenhagen will have hoped to have secured a victory at home to progress through to the Champions League group phase in the Parken stadium, but it was not meant to be. A crowd of 39,711 came to watch Champions League live and were disappointed to see that it was to be the visitors who scored the only goal of the night on 18 when Benfica’s Greek international Kostas Katsouranis headed in from a Rui Costa free kick. Up until this point the fans had supported their team well, but the goal deflated even the most loyal supporter.

What could have been will have been on the minds of the Copenhagen fans as they left the stadium after the live football match, as it was their team who started the brightest and if they had converted just one of their chances in the first half it could have been such a different game. For them the UEFA competition beckons, whilst Benfica join the Champions League group stage. Jose Antonio Camacho will hope that his team can make a strong start to their campaign amongst domestic football’s elite teams. Over previous competitions they have failed reach the final however they have made it past the group phases only to fail when the final is in sight.

Benfica will be hoping to have a year without meeting Manchester United as the two teams have met in each of the last two competitions with honours being equal for now.

Unfortunately for Copenhagen they will need to wait for their chance to take part in the Champions League for the first time and will once again take their place in the UEFA cup and hope to get past the first few rounds of that competition.

Spanish team Valencia cruised into the Champions League group phase with a convincing aggregate win over the two legs, during which they were rarely troubled. Just over 13 000 fans came to watch Champions League football in the Ryavallen Stadium and they were rewarded with a Daniel Alexandersson goal on 32, to draw level on the night. Unfortunately for the Swedish team, by this time Valencia had already scored themselves through Ivan Helguera on 5 to put the match result beyond any doubt. Valencia recorded a comfortable victory; as substitute David Villa scored a late goal to give the Spanish club a 5-1 win overall.

Valencia will hope to make further progression in the elite competition after being knocked out by Chelsea in the Quarter finals I last years competitions and with experience and quality in their squad they will be one of the favourites to progress through to the knock out stages again this year. IF Elfsborg still have the honour of playing in the UEFA cup competition which still holds a place in all football fans hearts.

Manager Magnus Haglund will try to lift his team from the disappointment of not reaching the Champions League and prepare for European competition in the Uefa cup.

A straight forward victory for the Norwegian side after they sealed victory in the first away leg at the Ratina stadium, home to Tampere United last week. Just over 14 000 fans came to the Lerkendal stadium to watch Champions League football and were rewarded with a comfortable victory for the home side. The home team gave the fans 2 goals either side of the half time whistle. The first goal came from midfielder Marek Sapara who gave his side the lead just before the break when his shot beat the Tampere keeper Mikko Kaven. Another was to follow soon after the restart when fellow midfielder Didier Konan beat the Tampere keeper for the second time on 49 to cap an easy victory.

Rosenborg will be well aware that harder challenges lay ahead in the group phase of the Champions League and manager Knut Torum will know that his side have failed to progress past the group phase so far. It will be important for them to start strongly and he will hope that the current squad can continue to score goals throughout the team. This will be key to their success or failure in the Champions League which starts next month.

Tampere United will take their place in this years Uefa cup competition after previous experience in the intertoto cup being their only experience of European cup football. Manager Ari Hjelm will hope to take his young squad and gain experience which will enable them to compete more effectively in future years. For this year he will just hope that they enjoy the experience.

Shaktar Donetsk pulled off a famous victory in front of over 25 000 home fans at their RSK Olympyiskyi stadium. They came into this tie with a good chance of winning with only a home goal from Red Bull Salzburg being the difference between the two teams. However it was Salzburg who scored the first goal through defender Remo Myer to take an aggregate 2 goal lead over the home team. This meant that the home team would be required to score three goals at least to take their place in the Champions League. If the home team were demoralized it didn’t show as only a few minutes later they pulled a goal back to delight their fans. It was home striker Cristiano Lucarelli who scored to show a little glimmer of hope on 9 minutes. Salzburg knew they were still in control of the match and with both midfields cancelling out any creative play the teams went into the half time on level terms for the night.

Both teams remained unchanged after the break but it would be Shakhatar that made the first substitution to force the play when they brought on Brandau and Castillo to force the game from the midfield. Shakhtar used their last attacking option in midfielder Duljaj on 72 and saw a real chance to take the game when they were awarded a penalty on 78. It was substitute midfielder Castillo who stepped up to slot the ball into the Salzburg net and draw the home team level with the visitors.

The home fans were ecstatic to see another of the substitutes Brandau, convert his chance on 86 to take the home team in front for the first time, where they remained until the final whistle. This was undoubtedly one of the best live football matches the home fans had witnessed and one which meant that they would take their place against the elite clubs in European domestic football. Although they are sure to be under dogs in the group phase of the Champions League the team will no doubt enjoy the experience especially after dragging themselves back from a two goal deficit. Unfortunately for Red Bull Salzburg they need to content themselves with another UEFA cup competition after coming so close to making it into the Champions League.

Although Ajax are not the all conquering team that they have been in the past it was still a monumental performance from Slavia Prague to send the Dutch team into the UEFA cup and book themselves a place in the Champions League group phase for the first time in five attempts. Ajax can have no complaints having been beaten in both legs and it was Stanislav Vlcek who was the hero in this match.

As 17 000 fans watch live football in the Evzena Rosickeho Stadium, Slavia Prague produced a performance which if they can repeat in the Champions League should see them contesting strongly. Home fans who came to watch Champions League football couldn’t have wished for a better start, as to add to their away goal the home team found themselves two goals in front on aggregate when Stanislav Vlcek who scored on 22 after Ajax failed to clear a corner. Ajax were given a life line from one of their new signings Luis Suarez on 33 after he converted a clever defence splitting pass from Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Ajax continued to press and had good chances falling to Stam and the goal scorer Suarez, but neither could add to the score line.

It was left to Vlcek again to seal the game and the match on 87 when he again converted a shot but this time from his partner Tavares. Jubilant scenes greeted the final whistle as Slavia Prague realized their dream of playing in the elite European competition for the first time. Whilst Ajax where once again staring at the UEFA cup as a consolation.

Steaua Bucuresti 2-0 BATE (agg: 4-2)

Another well contested game saw the Romanians through with two goals from their strikers Dorel Zaharia and Adrian Neaga. At the start of the game the two teams were evenly balanced although Steaua Bucuresti had the advantage of away goals from the first leg. With four goals having being scored in the first leg, most onlookers expected more goals but who they would come from was up for debate.

As the home fans watched the football live, it was they who would be celebrating when on 12 Dorel Zaharia put the ball into the back of the visitors net to claim the first goal of the game. To some extent this helped to settle the home fans, although all connected with the home team realized that it would only take a goal from BATE to change the context of the match. After a tight first half the teams took to the field for the last part of the match.

Again both teams tried to create opportunities, but yet again the home fans would see one of their own players score the next and most telling goal, as Adrian Neaga scored on 66 to all but settle the tie. BATE had resigned themselves to playing in the UEFA cup before the final whistle blew which left the Romanians to celebrate with their fans.

Gheorge Hagi will no doubt be relishing the thought of playing in the Champions League rather than having to stand by and watch Champions League and with the squad he has available will be confident of putting in good performances to progress to the knockout stage.