Zimbru is close to the Europa League playoffs, where it could play against a top European team, namely Inter, Lyon or Tottenham. The team trained by the Belarusian coach Oleg Kubarev defeated Groedig away 2-1 in the first-leg match of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, IPN reports.

Striker Serghei Alexeev opened the score in the 35th minute as a result of a mistake made by Groedig fullback Simon Handle. The same fullback made an even more serious mistake when he scored in their own goal in the 59h minute. The Austrian team scored the goal of honor in the 88th minute through Tomi.

“I’m very angry because we received two goals due to childish mistakes. However, it’s not yet over and we will reply in Chisinau,” Grodig coach Michael Baur told a news conference after the match.

“We are very satisfied. The team is in high spirits. I hope we will keep them high. We thank all those who supported us” Zimbru fullback Stefan Burghiu stated for IPN.

The return game between Zimbru and Groedig is played in Chisinau on August 7.