Egnatia Finish the Job in Style
Whatever nerves were left over from a scrappy first leg, Egnatia burned through them inside the first three minutes. The Albanian champions absolutely blew Petrocub Hîncesti away at Arena Egnatia on Wednesday, winning 6-1 to seal a 7-2 aggregate victory and reach the second qualifying round of the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
Nobody saw this coming after the first leg in Moldova, which finished 1-1 in a game Egnatia actually played most of with ten men after an early red card. Petrocub dominated large stretches of that match and still couldn’t find a way past a stubborn Egnatia defense, and with the tie level heading into the return leg, this one was expected to be tight. It wasn’t, not even a little.
An Avalanche of Goals
Egnatia set the tone almost immediately. Just three minutes in, a corner from the right found its way to Soumaila Bakayoko, who nodded it down into the path of Eneo Bitri, and the defender bundled it home to make it 1-0. From there the home side never let up. Alessandro Albanese doubled the lead in the 32nd minute with a stunning strike from distance, and right before the break Egnatia added a third when Fernando Medeiros swung in a cross that Petrocub’s Mihail Platica turned into his own net trying to defend it. 3-0 at halftime, and the tie was already as good as over.
Petrocub barely had time to regroup before Egnatia struck again. Andrey Yago pounced on a loose ball in the 60th minute, assisted by Medeiros, to make it 4-0, and Petrocub’s response — a goal from Nicolae Rotaru five minutes later, set up by Ion Jardan — did little more than delay the inevitable. Egnatia weren’t done, either. Bakayoko turned provider into scorer in the 85th minute, finishing off a pass from Ildi Gruda to make it 5-1, and Gruda got his own name on the scoresheet in the final minute of normal time to complete an emphatic 6-1 rout.
What It Means Next
It’s a landmark night for Egnatia, who reach the second qualifying round for the very first time in the club’s 90-year history and will now face Slovenian side Celje for a shot at going even further. For Petrocub, who’d controlled long stretches of the first leg without ever really punishing Egnatia’s numerical disadvantage, it’s a brutal way for a promising European run to end — a night where nothing that worked for them in Moldova carried over at all.
Match Summary
Egnatia 6-1 Petrocub (Egnatia win 7-2 on aggregate) UEFA Champions League, First Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg — Arena Egnatia, Rrogozhinë, Albania Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Goals: 3′ Eneo Bitri (Egnatia) 1-0 (assist: Soumaila Bakayoko) 32′ Alessandro Albanese (Egnatia) 2-0 (assist: Guillem Jaime) 45′ Mihail Platica (Egnatia) 3-0 (own goal) 60′ Andrey Yago (Egnatia) 4-0 (assist: Fernando Medeiros) 65′ Nicolae Rotaru (Petrocub) 4-1 (assist: Ion Jardan) 85′ Soumaila Bakayoko (Egnatia) 5-1 (assist: Ildi Gruda) 90′ Ildi Gruda (Egnatia) 6-1
Result: Egnatia advance 7-2 on aggregate to the second qualifying round, where they’ll face Celje.
For live Champions League qualifying scores and coverage, visit fawanews. Full results and bracket at the official UEFA Champions League website.
