Arsenal squeezed into the Champions League proper with a 1-0 win over Beşiktaş at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday. A scrappy goal from Alexis Sánchez proved just enough to see off the plucky Turkish outfit.
Champions League scores: Arsenal, Athletic Bilbao through, Napoli crash out
Napoli were the biggest casualties from the Champions League playoffs, with Arsenal and Athletic Bilbao both progressing.
Shaun Botterill
Athletic Bilbao are also through into the next round after they saw off Serie A giants Napoli 3-1 at home, and 4-2 on aggregate. Marek Hamšík put the Neapolitans in the driving seat in that match, though their Basque opponents roared back with three goals past the hour for a comfortable victory.
The only tie of the round that went to extra time was between Ludogorets and Steaua Bucharest, and it was the most dramatic of the bunch too. In the 118th minute, Ludogorets had their keeper sent off, but defender Cosmin Moti stepped in and made two saves in penalties, guiding his team to the group stage.
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen demolished Copenhagen 4-0 at home to seal a comfortable 7-2 aggregate victory, while Malmö FF booked their place in the group stages with a 3-0 home win over Salzburg, overturning their 2-1 defeat in Austria.
Full results
Malmö FF 3-0 (4-2) Salzburg
Ludogorets 1-1 (6-5) Steaua Bucharest
Arsenal 1-0 (1-0) Beşiktaş - Full match report here
Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 (7-2) Copenhagen
Athletic Bilbao 3-1 (4-2) Napoli
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