Muut

FC Midtjylland cruise past Finnish minnows to book their ticket for the Europa League

Edward Chilufya FC Midtjylland (L) and Bob Nii Armah of KuPS (R) in action during the UEFA Europa League match
Edward Chilufya FC Midtjylland (L) and Bob Nii Armah of KuPS (R) in action during the UEFA Europa League matchJUSSI ESKOLA / EPA / Profimedia
FC Midtjylland are ready for the league phase of the Europa League after they recorded a comfortable 2-0 win in the return leg of the playoff round clash against Finnish outfit KuPS to proceed to the tournament on a 4-0 aggregate scoreline.

This is the second successive year that FC Midtjylland have advanced to the Europa League league phase.

Before the decisive away match, the Danes had a very advantageous starting point to book a ticket to the Europa League tournament as they won the first match at home in very comfortable fashion. 

In Finland the Danish took control of proceedings from the start and never allowed the home side any hope of staging an unlikely comeback. 

After half an hour, the Finns were fortunate to see a strong header from Brazilian striker striker Junior Brumado denied by the crossbar but eight minutes later the home side were reduced to ten men.

Denil Castillo was on the verge of breaking into the Finnish box but was wrestled to the ground by Arttu Lotjonen, who was followingly shown a red card. 

The Danish guests needed only five minutes of the second half to take the lead when Brumado converted a penalty after he had been brought down in the box himself. 

Then five minuter late Edward Chilufya searched down the flank and squared the ball for the onrushing Aral Simsir to double the Danish lead. 

In the final phase, the pace dropped significantly, and the visitors were content to bring the match to an end in pure cruise control.