FC Midtjylland saved some Danish pride in European football by beating English Premier League side Southampton 1-0 at home last night to advance to the Europa League group stage.
Morten Duncan Rasmussen scored the only goal of the leg halfway through the first half and the Danes held on to win 2-1 on aggregate thanks to a 1-1 draw in south England last week.
“I’m really proud of the players for finishing such a task,” Jess Thorup, the head coach of FCM, told bold.dk.
“We are now looking forward to measuring ourselves on the European scene, and I feel we are ready to do so as a club. They barely had a chance in the second half, and based on that it’s fully deserved that we win, even though we were under pressure at times.”
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Important win
The victory was also essential for Denmark’s place in the UEFA coefficient rankings. As the only Danish team in the European group stages this year, the points gained there will be worth gold.
The Wolves will find out which group they are in at 1pm today. There won’t be any easy games as they are one of the bottom seeds.
Brøndby IF, on the other hand, couldn’t conjure up a miracle after being thumped 0-5 in Greece by PAOK Saloniki last week. The ‘Boys from Vestegnen’ rescued a little pride by drawing 1-1 in the home leg.
