A Tie That Just Refused to Give Anyone a Goal
Some nights, football just won’t cooperate. U. Cluj and Dynamo Kyiv played out a second straight 0-0 at Cluj Arena on Thursday — 120 minutes, nothing to show for it — before Dynamo finally got the job done 4-2 on penalties to move into the next round of Europa League qualifying.
Honestly, stubborn is the only word for this tie. The first leg back in Kyiv had already ended goalless too, with Dynamo on top for long stretches but somehow never quite finishing anyone off. Cluj came into the second leg on a rough run domestically — four games, no wins — but they’d been solid enough away from home that a shock in front of their own fans didn’t feel impossible.
Ninety Minutes. Extra Time. Still Nothing.
The 90 in Cluj went pretty much how you’d expect. Dynamo had the ball more, Cluj dug in and defended, and neither side really created enough to break through. Both benches got involved, throwing on fresh legs late trying to force something, but no keeper had a night that changed the story. Extra time came and went the same way. Thirty more minutes, still 0-0. By the 120th minute the tie sat exactly where it had a week earlier after the first whistle in Kyiv.
Penalties Decide It
So, penalties. And this time it was Dynamo who kept their cool. Dan Nistor and Ovidiu Bic both scored theirs for Cluj, but Alexandru Chipciu’s effort was saved, and that ended up being the whole difference. On the other side, Andriy Yarmolenko, Volodymyr Brazhko (on for Vitaliy Buyalskiy), Mykola Ponomarenko and Justin Lonwijk all converted, and Dynamo closed it out 4-2 to book their spot in the next round.
What Happens Next
Rough way for Cluj’s European run to end — they went 240 minutes against a Dynamo side everyone expected to beat them and didn’t concede once, only to lose it on penalties anyway. For Dynamo, now unbeaten in seven, it wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t full of goals, but it got the job done, and that’s really all that mattered here.
Match Summary
U. Cluj 0-0 Dynamo Kyiv (Dynamo Kyiv win 4-2 on penalties, tied 0-0 on aggregate) UEFA Europa League, First Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg (AET) — Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Thursday, 16 July 2026 Referee: Iwan Griffith
Penalty shootout: Nistor (U. Cluj) scored — Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kyiv) scored Chipciu (U. Cluj) missed — Brazhko (Dynamo Kyiv) scored Bic (U. Cluj) scored — Ponomarenko (Dynamo Kyiv) scored Lonwijk (Dynamo Kyiv) scored
Result: Dynamo Kyiv advance to the next round of Europa League qualifying, winning 4-2 on penalties after a goalless tie.
For live Europa League qualifying scores and coverage, visit fawanews. Full results and bracket at the official UEFA Europa League website.
