The encounter
Dinamo qualified on penalties 9–8 · aggregate 3–3
Match cassette · results and dates
Romanian club’s score first.
- 20 August 2009 · HomeDinamo București 0–3 Slovan Liberec (Czechia)
- 27 August 2009 · AwayDinamo București 3–0 Slovan Liberec (Czechia)
A three-goal deficit
Dinamo travelled to Slovan Liberec on 27 August 2009 facing a 3–0 deficit. The first leg in Bucharest had been abandoned following crowd trouble and recorded as an awarded 3–0 defeat. Qualification for the Europa League group stage appeared a distant prospect.
The comeback away from home
Andrei Cristea scored early, and substitute Marius Niculae added two goals after half-time. Dinamo’s 3–0 away victory levelled the tie at 3–3. Extra time produced no further goal, leaving qualification to penalties.
From the brink to the spot
The journey to Liberec began with more than a difficult away match: Dinamo had to erase a three-goal deficit before they could even think about progressing. Cristea’s early strike gave the task a shape; Niculae’s two goals completed it. Then came extra time and a long shoot-out, extending the tension until the comeback became qualification.
A place in the group stage
Dinamo won the extended shoot-out 9–8, completing the comeback remembered as Miracolul din Liberec. The away performance and shoot-out belong together: the three goals restored the possibility of qualification, and the penalties finally secured it.
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Sources & image credits
Match results and dates follow the archive records. Reference pages:
Club crest: the image already stored in the club archive, used as a visual identifier rather than a photograph of this encounter.
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