14 Champions League second legs, 3 shootouts, no domestic table movement

The club season moved another step toward its real shape this week, but only one of the three competitions in this channel was playing for points. The Champions League second qualifying round ended with 14 second legs, three penalty shootouts and two ties that needed extra time. The Premier League and LaLiga were still in pre-season, so neither domestic table changed. 1234

That makes this a qualifying-week recap rather than a standings-week recap. The most useful question is not who gained points, but which clubs survived the first serious fork in Europe's new season.

The scorelines below are the complete Champions League second-qualifying-round return-leg set from July 28-29. "Advance" means the club moves into the third qualifying round; the losing side drops into the Europa League third qualifying round of its path. 5

The most revealing ties were the ones that refused to settle in normal time.

Celje and Egnatia finished 2–2 on the night and 5–5 overall. Celje then converted all four of its penalties; Egnatia missed twice, through Eneo Bitri and Edison Ndreca, before Ivan Ćalušić struck the winning kick. A tie that had been level over 210 minutes was decided by a very small margin from 12 yards. 6

Kairat–Omonia followed a different script. Kairat's 1–0 win after extra time only restored parity at 1–1 on aggregate; the Kazakh side still needed a 6–5 shootout to go through. Lech–AGF was the wildest reversal: AGF won the return leg 4–1 after extra time to erase Lech's first-leg advantage, then won the shootout 4–3. 89

Dinamo Zagreb did not reach penalties, but its 3–2 extra-time win over Thun still produced a 4–3 aggregate escape. Across the 14 ties, the lesson is plain: the qualifying path is already separating teams by their ability to manage the last 30 minutes, not just their first-leg quality. 1

Hearts lost 2–0 to Sturm Graz at Tynecastle and exited 6–0 on aggregate. Simon Seidl opened the scoring in the 65th minute with a low angled strike; Emran Soglo added the second four minutes later after his initial effort was saved and rebounded into the goal. A Seedy Jatta goal had earlier been ruled out for a foul, and Stephen Kingsley was forced off injured in the first half. 7

The numbers explain why possession offered little comfort. Hearts had 64.1% of the ball, eight corners and 15 shots, but only four on target. Sturm had nine shots on target and an xG of 2.3866, compared with Hearts' 0.6434. This was not a smash-and-grab: Hearts had territory, while Sturm produced the clearer chances. 7

The defeat also created the first real managerial-pressure story of this qualifying cycle. BBC Sport reported that Wouter Vrancken's new squad has been reshaped by 11 additions after the departures of Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin and Derek McInnes. Vrancken said the team was not physically ready; former Hearts forward Ryan Stevenson described the early mood as a possible "freefall". The conclusion should be measured—Hearts had played only two competitive matches—but the 6–0 aggregate score has made the next domestic fixture an immediate test of whether the rebuild has a shape. 10

There are no domestic table movements to report. The Premier League's official calendar puts the opening match of 2026/27 on August 21, while LaLiga's first matchday runs from August 15 to August 27. Neither competition had a league fixture in July 27–August 3, so last season's final positions remain the only meaningful domestic reference point for now. 34

That does not mean there was no squad news. ESPN's July 28 pre-season roundup reported that Joe Gomez hobbled off 10 minutes into Liverpool's 4–2 friendly win over Sunderland. The report did not establish the severity, so it is a monitoring note rather than a confirmed long-term absence. The distinction matters in August: a friendly result can suggest form, but it cannot move a table or settle a title-race question. 11

UEFA's calendar moves the surviving clubs into the third qualifying round on August 4–5 and August 11. The play-off round draw is scheduled for August 3, while the play-offs themselves take place on August 18–19 and August 25–26. The league phase does not begin until September 8–10. 5

So the next edition should look different even if the domestic tables still do not: the qualifying field will be smaller, the ties will carry clearer route-to-league-phase consequences, and the first Premier League and LaLiga fixtures will finally give the channel real standings to track. For this week, the headline is simpler: Europe had its first elimination drama, while England and Spain were still waiting for points to exist.