UEFA Champions League run ends early for Žalgiris after penalty drama in Malta

The UEFA Champions League season came to a shocking and premature end for Lithuanian champions FK Žalgiris, who squandered a two-goal advantage from the first leg and were eliminated by Maltese side Hamrun Spartans after a dramatic penalty shootout that extended to an extraordinary 28 spot-kicks. The final aggregate score over two legs was 2–3 in favor of the Spartans.

Žalgiris had looked well in control after the first leg at home, securing a convincing 2–0 victory thanks to goals from Liviu Antal and Kassim Hadji. However, the return leg, held at the more modest Centenary Stadium near the national Ta’ Qali Stadium — usually reserved for Malta’s youth and women’s teams — proved to be a daunting setting for the Lithuanian side.

For Žalgiris, this was an attempt to make it past the first qualifying round of the Champions League for the fourth time in a row. On the other hand, Hamrun Spartans had never before advanced past the opening stage of the competition — until now.

Head coach Vladimir Cheburin made one change to the starting XI compared to the first match: in attack, Kassim Hadji replaced Brazilian Henrique Devens. Meanwhile for Spartans the former Lithuanian international Domantas Šimkus once again was in the starting lineup.

Early in the match, Spartans Joseph Mbong found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside. As the extreme heat began to take its toll, the match tempo slowed considerably, which initially played into Žalgiris’ favor given their two-goal cushion.

Yet, the situation turned rapidly. In the 35th minute, Serigne Thioune headed the ball into Žalgiris’ net, exposing gaps in their defense and cutting their aggregate lead in half. Just six minutes later, J. Mbong struck again, this time with a stunning effort to level the tie 2–2 on aggregate, wiping out Žalgiris’ first-leg advantage.

The rest of regular time passed with few chances, and the match drifted into extra time. The first period of extra time was lackluster, with neither team generating significant danger. In the 109th minute, Šalčinovič had perhaps the best chance for Žalgiris, but his effort was saved by the goalkeeper. Just before the shootout, Žalgiris were reduced to 10 men after Radenović received a red card in the 114th minute.

Eventually, with no winner in sight after 120 minutes, the match headed to a penalty shootout — a first for Žalgiris in European competitions.

The shootout was intense and lengthy. Žalgiris’ Swedish midfielder Dino Šalčinovič saw his early attempt saved, but goalkeeper Carlos Olses immediately made amends by denying former FK Sūduva and FK Panevėžys player Jovan Čadjenović. Penalty followed penalty until a total of 28 were taken. Žalgiris missed four in total, including the decisive miss by Ghanaian midfielder Ebenezer Ofori, who sent his effort over the bar. Fittingly, it was Čadjenović who redeemed himself by calmly converting the final penalty, sealing Hamrun Spartans’ historic progression to the second qualifying round — where they will face Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Žalgiris drop into the UEFA Conference League, where they will face the loser of the tie between Northern Ireland’s Linfield and Irish champions Shelbourne. Shelbourne currently lead the series 1–0 after a narrow win in the first leg.

Hamrun Spartans vs FK Žalgiris – 2:0 (11:10 after penalty kicks)
Goals: Thioune 35′, Mbong 41′
HAM: Bonello, Compri (Emerson 100′), Bjelicic, Šimkus (Garcia 79′), Polito, Mbong (Micallef 90+2′), Cadjenovic, Eder, El Fanis (90+2′), Camenzuli, Hadzi (Tjioune 22′), Koffi (Jonny 100′)
ŽAL: Olses, Moutachy, Radenovic, Dumančic, Tavares (Youla 81′), Matulevičius (Salcinovič 46′), Ofori, Verbickas (Mihajlovic 67′), Kendysh (Henrique 81′), Antal, Hadji (Lukaševic 105+1′)