Champions League Play-off Results: Valencia tops Monaco, Celtic left with slim advantage

Here's a rundown of what took place in Wednesday's first-leg play-off matches.

Valencia 3, AS Monaco 1

Goals

• Valencia: Rodrigo - 4th minute
• AS Monaco: Mario Pasalic - 49th minute
• Valencia: Dani Parejo - 59th minute
• Valencia: Sofiane Feghouli - 86th minute

That was fun. Valencia and AS Monaco went back and forth inside a raucous Mestalla on Wednesday evening, with the hosts emerging victorious thanks to some lackadaisical defending from the French side, along with some luck in their own end. While the Ligue 1 club looked dangerous all match long - particularly whenever Anthony Martial was involved in the attack - the late tally from Sofiane Feghouli could prove to be massive once this tie is wrapped up.

Second leg: Tuesday, Aug. 25

Celtic 3, Malmo 2

Goals

• Celtic: Leigh Griffiths - 3rd minute
• Celtic: Nir Biton - 10th minute
• Malmo: Jo Inge Berget - 52nd minute
• Celtic: Leigh Griffiths - 62nd minute
• Malmo: Jo Inge Berget - 95th minute

Two goals in 10 minutes looked to have all but ended this contest, as the Scottish giants fed off a typically marvelous atmosphere inside Celtic Park to jump all over Malmo in the early stages of the contest. But Jo Inge Berget, who spent last season with the Bhoys, single-handedly kept the Swedish side in the tie with a pair of goals, his second coming with virtually the final kick of the match.

Second leg: Tuesday, Aug. 25

Rapid Wien 0, Shakhtar Donetsk 1

Goals

• Shakhtar Donetsk: Marlos - 44th minute

It wasn't pretty, but the Ukrainian club - a fixture of the Champions League in recent seasons - took a massive step towards returning to Europe's prized club competition with an away victory in Austria.

Second leg: Tuesday, Aug. 25

FC Basel 2, Maccabi Tel-Aviv 2

Goals

• Maccabi Tel-Aviv: Eran Zehavi - 31st minute
• FC Basel: Matias Delgado (PEN) - 39th minute
• FC Basel: Breel Embolo - 88th minute
• Maccabi Tel-Aviv: Eran Zehavi - 96th minute

Better late than never. For both sides. FC Basel needed a late goal from teenager Breel Embolo to take the lead against Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Wednesday at St. Jakob-Park, and looked to be on its way to an unconvincing home win - but a win nonetheless. Well, Eran Zehavi had other ideas. The 28-year-old attacking midfielder scored his second goal of the match six minutes into injury time to secure a draw that puts the Israeli side in the driver's seat heading into the return leg next week.

Second leg: Tuesday, Aug. 25

Skenderbeu 1, Dinamo Zagreb 2

Goals

• Skenderbeu: Blendi Shkembi - 37th minute
• Dinamo Zagreb: El Arabi Hilal Soudani - 66th minute
• Dinamo Zagreb: Josip Pivaric - 93rd minute

It was all looking so good for the Albanian club. Leading 1-0 with less than 30 minutes remaining, Skenderbeu was on the verge of taking an advantage into the second leg of its tie with Dinamo Zagreb, and taking one giant step towards a historic berth in the Champions League group stage. And then the 17-time Croatian champion flipped the tie on its head - and, in fairness, secured a result that most expected heading into the contest. Josip Pivaric's injury-time stunner was more than worthy of winning the match.

Second leg: Tuesday, Aug. 25