First leg score: Raków Częstochowa 2-1 Slavia Praha
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Match preview
Having surprisingly lost at Miejski Stadion Piłkarski a week ago, Slavia Prague are up against it coming into the return leg.
Underdogs Raków Częstochowa took a surprise lead half an hour into the first leg; Ivi scoring his fourth goal of this qualification campaign.
Tomáš Holeš then equalised for Slavia on the hour mark, only for Raków to go straight up the other end and restore their lead literally from kick off, courtesy of Fran Tudor.
2-1 is how it ended in Częstochowa, giving the Polish side a shot at an upset as the two reconvene in the Czech capital.
Raków Częstochowa only made their debut in UEFA competition last season, falling to Gent in the play-off round.
In stark contrast, few clubs from outside Europe’s ‘top five’ leagues can boast as impressive a recent record as Slavia Praha.
The Slavists reached the Europa League quarter-finals in both 2019 and 2021, while also getting to the last eight of this competition just last season.
For what it’s worth, this means Slavia are currently ranked 32nd in the UEFA club coefficient rankings, with only three clubs from outside the top seven leagues above them.
Jindřich Trpišovský’s team have already hammered St Joseph’s 11-0 and edged out Panathinaikos 3-1 in qualification this season.
Now though, Slavia require a comeback victory at Fortuna Arena, this season’s final venue, to reach the group phase.
