Rijeka Drops into Conference League

It was a night to forget for Croatian champions Rijeka, who lost 5–0 to PAOK in Thessaloniki in the second leg of the Europa League playoff. With a 5–1 aggregate win, the Greek side advances into the Europa League group stage. Rijeka now falls into the group stage of the Conference League.

The goals came early and often: Meite (12’), Konstantelias (25’), Chalov (56’), Giakoumakis (77’), and Pelkas (89’) all found the back of the net. To make matters worse, Rijeka played the final 20 minutes a man down after Majstorović was sent off with a second yellow.

PAOK, needing to overturn Rijeka’s 1–0 advantage from the first leg, came out firing. Rijeka almost stunned them in the opening seconds when Fruk took advantage of a sloppy pass at the back, only to mishit his shot. From there, POAK’s pressure was relentless. After a missed penalty appeal, Meite rose highest on a corner to make it 1–0.

Fruk nearly equalized with a left-foot strike off the post in the 23rd minute, but just two minutes later, Konstantelias worked through Rijeka’s defense for 2–0. The second half turned into a collapse. Chalov capitalized on a defensive mix-up to make it three, Giakoumakis scored a stunner off the bar and post for the fourth, and Pelkas added insult to injury late with the fifth.

While it’s a brutal European exit for Rijeka, it will also be their first-ever appearance in the Conference League group stage. Next up is the Adriatic Derby against Hajduk Split at Poljud on Sunday.