Djurgården Overcomes 10-Men Rapid in Extra Time to Secure Spot in Conference League Semis

Tobias Gulliksen emerged as the standout player, netting two vital goals in extra time to propel Djurgarden into their inaugural European semi-final, clinching a 4-2 aggregate triumph against SK Rapid Wien following a convincing 4-1 win in the Austrian capital during their UEFA Conference League quarter-final second leg.

Rapid welcomed back Mamadou Sangare from suspension, but his return lasted only seven minutes. The defender received a yellow card from referee Anthony Taylor for a reckless tackle on Nino Zugelj, which was upgraded to a red after VAR reviewed the incident.

Santeri Haarala replaced the injured Zugelj and soon found himself in position to capitalise on Djurgarden’s numerical advantage, but failed to convert from close range, with his shot denied by Niklas Hedl.

Using the situation to their advantage, the home side opted to retreat and stifle Djurgarden’s attacks for the remainder of the first half. However, VAR intervened once again, ruling that Jonas Auer had handled the ball in the penalty area.

Marcus Danielson stepped up to take the penalty and successfully sent Hedl the wrong way, putting his side ahead shortly before the break.

However, Rapid equalised within four minutes as Jacob Une inadvertently directed a free-kick from the right into his own goal, restoring their aggregate lead.

This marked the first time Djurgarden had conceded at home to Swedish opponents, but would-be further goals were thwarted by goal-line clearances from Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao and Dion Beljo either side of the half-time interval.

At the other end, Beljo was working hard to add to his goal tally but found Djurgarden keeper Jacob Rinne an imposing barrier on multiple occasions. Haarala missed a golden opportunity on the hour mark, narrowly missing the target.

Matthias Seidl missed a glorious opportunity to send Robert Klauss’ team through, somehow failing to score from six yards after Rinne parried his initial attempt. Rapid was soon made to pay for this miss with 12 minutes remaining.

After a curler from Tokmac Nguen was tipped overhead by Hedl, the ensuing corner was partially cleared to Keita Kosugi, who expertly placed the ball into the top corner.

Late attempts from August Priske and Adam Stahl could not alter the course of the match, sending the teams into extra time.

The 10 men appeared faltering as extra time began, conceding within three minutes when Nguen laid the ball off to Gulliksen, who fired an unstoppable 25-yard strike into the bottom corner.

Just before half-time in extra time, Gulliksen struck again, arriving late in the box to guide the ball in off the post after connecting with Priske’s cutback.

With this result, Jani Honkavaara’s side achieved a fourth consecutive away victory in the Conference League and secured a semi-final clash against Chelsea.

Rapid’s woes deepened when Raux-Yao received a second yellow card for a tackle on Nguen, leaving them down to nine and extending their wait for a UEFA semi-final since 1996.