Plzen beat Red Star 5-1 after the match went to extra time

Viktoria Plzen defeated Red Star 5-1 after extra time and advanced 5-4 on aggregate. Red Star had won the first leg 3-0 but will now continue in the Conference League.

Plzen scored early, but Ivanic answered

Prince Adu opened the scoring for Plzen in the eighth minute. Mirko Ivanic replied three minutes later and restored Red Star's three-goal aggregate advantage. The match changed after half-time. Denis Visinsky converted a penalty in the 58th minute, and Patrik Hrosovsky scored five minutes later. Plzen were one goal from extra time with more than 25 minutes remaining. Red Star arrived with a strong advantage from Belgrade, but the first 11 minutes showed that the return match would not follow a simple defensive script. Adu's early goal lifted the home crowd. Ivanic answered almost immediately and restored the visitors' margin. That response gave Red Star a chance to slow the game before half-time.

Krcik needed six minutes of extra time to produce the next goal. Red Star then had most of the remaining period to respond. One Serbian goal would again have changed the club advancing from the tie. Plzen defended the central route, survived the second extra-time period and prevented the visitors from creating that final answer. For Red Star, the review will focus on the long period between Ivanic's goal and the end of normal time. The team remained in front in the tie until the final added minutes. The late penalty removed that position, and Krcik's finish then forced Red Star to attack during extra time. The match changed through separate phases rather than one uninterrupted Plzen surge. Ivanic's goal should not disappear inside the final result. It was an immediate response to Adu and restored Red Star's position at that moment. The later five-goal total can make the early phase look one-sided, but the visitors had successfully answered the first setback. Plzen needed the second-half sequence to change the outcome again.

Plzen completed the comeback in extra time after forcing the additional period with a late penalty.

A late penalty forced extra time

Red Star defended the lead until added time. In the fifth additional minute, Christopher Kabongo converted another Plzen penalty and levelled the tie. The teams entered extra time with Plzen leading 4-1 on the night.

Red Star needed one goal to move back in front, while the Czech club carried the momentum from its late equalizer. Plzen needed several goals after the interval and continued to move players around the Serbian penalty area. Visinsky's penalty in the 58th minute reopened the contest. Hrosovsky scored only five minutes later, leaving enough time for sustained pressure. Red Star still held the qualifying position, but the home side no longer needed an impossible late sequence.

The two matches show the scale of the comeback. Red Star controlled the first match and travelled with a three-goal lead. Plzen then scored five times in the return, including two penalties and the extra-time winner. Ivanic remained Red Star's only scorer in the Czech Republic despite his important early reply. The official chronology keeps those phases clear. Adu and Ivanic scored before the 12th minute. Visinsky and Hrosovsky changed the second half, Kabongo forced extra time, and Krcik completed the turnaround. Each goal changed the aggregate score and the target for both teams. That is why the closing stages required different decisions from the earlier part of the match.

Krcik completed the comeback

Lukas Krcik scored in the 96th minute. Plzen then protected the lead through the second extra-time period and completed a major European comeback. The result sent Plzen into the Europa League phase. Red Star's Europa League run ended, but the Serbian champions will continue their European season in the Conference League. Kabongo's added-time penalty came after Red Star had protected the remaining margin for more than 25 minutes. The forward accepted a kick that had to be scored to extend the night. His finish did not complete qualification by itself. It sent the teams into another 30 minutes and gave Plzen a chance to use the momentum created at the end of normal time.

Red Star's European season is not over. The defeat moved the Serbian champions from the Europa League route into the Conference League. The change affects the level of competition but preserves autumn European fixtures. Plzen took the Europa League place after completing the comeback at home. Set pieces carried unusual weight in the return match. Plzen converted both penalties, and each one served a different purpose. Visinsky reduced the remaining gap during the second half. Kabongo's kick arrived when one miss would have ended the home team's attempt. That composure kept the comeback alive until extra time.