AEK Athens stands as the only Greek team in the Champions League playoffs after Olympiacos suffered elimination in extra time against Nijmegen.
The completion of the third qualifying round confirmed the seven final playoff matchups for a place in the tournament league phase.
AEK will face Bulgarian club Levski Sofia for a spot in the league phase of Europe's top club competition.
Levski Sofia secured their playoff spot against AEK by defeating Kairat 1-0 in Almaty. Meanwhile, Nijmegen eliminated Olympiacos with a 2-1 victory in extra time, sending the Greek side to the Europa League phase.
Playoff Schedule and Matchups
The first leg matches of the playoff round are set for August 18 and August 19. The return legs will take place one week later on August 25 and August 26, ahead of the league phase draw scheduled for August 27.
In the Champions Path, Levski Sofia play AEK, Celtic face LASK Linz, and Dinamo Zagreb take on Viking. Slovan Bratislava meet Celje, while Hapoel Beer Sheva face Sabah.
In the League Path for non-champions, Fenerbahce face Lyon, while Nijmegen take on Bodo/Glimt.
Reactions and European Competition Results
Following the loss to Nijmegen, Olympiacos manager Mendilibar said that the team must not hang their heads and must regroup for the start of the domestic championship. Olympiacos will now compete in the Europa League phase.
In Conference League action, Panathinaikos beat CSKA 1948 2-1 in extra time to advance to the playoff round, where they will face either Hradec or Besiktas. Player Dessers stated that the squad wants to reach the Conference League phase and will continuously improve, according to reports from Gazzetta.gr.
In domestic action, AEL defeated Trikala 4-0 in the second round of the Greek Cup.
