Aberdeen

Former Aberdeen defender Willie Miller on BBC Scotland

It is a disappointment because it is only a draw - but there is hope there.

It is still level and Aberdeen have shown what they are capable of. The manager has big questions in terms of his starting line-up, with Dante Polvara in particular and Graeme Shinnie too.

Polvara down the left is such an outball. He's a big, strong unit as well and the goal - he shouldn't really be scoring from that position, facing away from goal. That fires the crowd and players up and gives them the optimism that they can get something out of it, which they did. He made a huge difference.

Ex-Scotland midfielder Michael Stewart on BBC Sportsound

The comeback is huge. There has been a fair bit of money spent but there's been a wee sense of negativity early on this season at Aberdeen.

To come back from 2-0 down helps things move in the right direction and validates what Jimmy Thelin is trying to do. Even though it's not a victory, it feels like and they've got to take that positivity from the comeback into next week.

What does Polvara need to do to start a game? Ante Palaversa and Polvara for me are the two midfielders that should be starting. They've got the physicality, they're athletic, great passing range. For the life of me I don't understand why they don't start most games.

Former Hearts manager Robbie Neilson on BBC Scottish football podcast

It's been the story of season so far for Aberdeen, the defensive side of things. When you're playing at that level and you make these kind of mistakes, you're going to get punished.

FCSB getting a man sent off was huge for the game because it got Aberdeen back into it. I think they ended up dominating possession.

And a lot of these European teams are really good defensively, but Aberdeen managed to break them down twice. It's going to be very difficult next week when they go over, but it's still alive.

Former Aberdeen striker Billy Dodds on BBC Scotland

Aberdeen will have to defend better in the second leg and not gift the Romanians goals. Both goals conceded were so poor. But it was a really good reaction after that.

Thelin got his tactics against the 10 men spot on when they were 2-0 down.

When they were shifting it and trying to get round the back, they were also able to float a diagonal for Polvara or Ester Sokler with the height advantage.

Substitutes Dante Polvara and Ester Sokler helped revive Aberdeen's Europa League hopes as they came from two goals down to draw with 10-man Romanian champions FCSB.

Defensive frailties had threatened to derail the Scottish Cup winners' hopes in their play-off first leg at Pittodrie, despite FCSB playing for nearly an hour a man down.

Dons fans, what did you make of the game? How do you feel ahead of the second leg?

Give us your thoughts here.

Read the match report here.

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin tells BBC Scotland: "First of all, how I can say, we had the 12th player today.

"The fans helped us come back in the game and gave us a chance for the second leg, and the way we came back and created chances was good.

"Then, of course, we have to improve the composure when we arrive at the crossing zones and raise the quality. And of course the goals they score, it can't happen in this kind of game today, it happened.

"Of course they [FCSB] use situations really well and keep the quality when they get the chances, but it's more about how we behave in these situations, and even at beginning of the game we start creating chances.

"The mentality and the spirit from the fans to help us come back in this game is a positive thing, but we need to improve, we can't give away the situations we did.

"It doesn't matter if it's in the play-off or in the league or in a League Cup or Scottish Cup, we have to be much better in these situations because that's football and I think we learned a lot about ourselves today.

"Now we have one week to prepare ourselves for the second game and try to win that one, to go through.

"We have to be stable for the whole game to deserve to win, but again, the spirit the players showed today and with our fans was so important for us.

"The game is fully alive. We have a big chance to go through. We have to just do some parts better."

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Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie tells BBC Scotland: "Obviously disappointed to go two goals behind.

"The heart and the character, driven on by the crowd who were phenomenal, that was there to come back.

"It's in the balance, they're a good side. With the crowd's backing there as well, we could drive on and create more chances.

"That's more like what we should be with that level of intensity. The belief is firmly there. and we're looking forward to it."

Aberdeen goalscorer Ester Sokler tells BBC Scotland: "I'm happy with the goal, that's the striker's job, but I'm disappointed to not get more from this game.

"We have it in our hands for next Thursday. Maybe I could score one or two more, but this is football and we go again next Thursday."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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A visa issue has ruled three FCSB players out of tonight's Europa League play-off first leg with Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Montenegrin left-back Risto Radunovic, South African centre-half Siyabonga Ngezana and Ghanaian midfielder Baba Alhassan have all made the trip to Scotland, but will now not be involved.

The trio had to stay at the team hotel on Wednesday night instead of training at Pittodrie before a final decision on the matter.

Head coach Elias Charalambous yesterday said: "We have to be ready for everything. We have a huge squad, many players, whatever the situation is we have to find the correct solutions. I am not worried because we have players."

The Romanian champions will go into the game as favourites, something Charalambous is not paying any attention to.

He added: "I believe that the two games are 50/50. I have in my mind to see two very tough games that will be decided next week."

FCSB defender Mihai Popescu, who previously had spells at St Mirren and Hearts, says there is no "big gap" in quality between Scottish and Romanian football.

"The quality of the players and of the teams is quite similar, here they are more aggressive than other leagues," said Popescu.

"But I think the players in Romania play more quickly than here so hopefully we will show that."

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

Image source, Getty

FCSB, who visit Pittodrie tonight for the Europa League play-off first leg, have recent pedigree and in Romania striker Daniel Birligea they have a man who scored 21 times last season and has continued that form into this campaign.

In midfielder Juri Cisotti, they have a 32-year-old who is hitting his best in his twilight playing years, with FCSB owner Gigi Bicali confident the Italian could be the difference against the Dons.

Captain and attacking midfielder Darius Olaru, who played at Euro 2024 for Romania, dictates play while former Hearts and St Mirren defender Mihai Popescu has forced himself into the international reckoning this year during the latter part of his career.

The club waited nine years for league title success but have just gone back-to-back despite their troubles early on this term. Last year began in a similar fashion before they roared to the finish line with an unbeaten run of 24 Liga 1 matches.

Another recent addition to both FCSB and the national team has been striker Dennis Politic, who was brought in from Dinamo Bucharest in the summer and has already been seduced by the confidence of his chairman.

"It will be a tough match against Aberdeen, but the boys on the team beat much tougher opponents last year. We have to go modestly from the first match, motivated, so I don't think we will have any problems."

If that last line isn't pinned up by Jimmy Thelin, it will surely be mentioned in dispatches in the build-up to what is a huge match for the Scottish Cup winners.

Are they ready?

Read more: What can Aberdeen expect from FCSB?

Manager Jimmy Thelin has refused to rule out a move to bring Scotland forward Kevin Nisbet back to Aberdeen. (Daily Record)

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack says the club will give the local council the land on which Pittodrie sits to ensure their new beachside stadium is built - and stop the city "sleepwalking into an economic crisis". (Press & Journal)

Read the rest of Thursday's gossip.

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Jimmy Thelin has praised Slobodan Rubezic's "hard work and professionalism" after the defender completed a permanent move to Polish side Korona Kielce for an undisclosed fee.

The defender made 57 appearances for the Dons and scored one goal over the two seasons he was at Pittodrie.

He spent the second half of last season on loan at his former club, FK Novi Pazar.

Thelin said: "Since his return for pre-season Slobodan has made it clear that it is important for him to get regular game time this season.

"Unfortunately, that is not something we can guarantee him here at Aberdeen and this move, which allows him to be closer to home, will enable him to focus on his next stage of his career.

"Slobodan was a popular figure at the club, and we thank him for his hard work and professionalism during his time with us. We wish him every success"

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Dimitar Mitov has urged Aberdeen "to create history" by securing their place in the Europa League.

They face Romanian champions FCSB at Pittodrie in the first leg of their play-off tie on Thursday night.

The winners over the two legs will progress through to the league stage of the competition, while the losers will have the consolation of dropping in to the same stage of the Conference League.

"I actually found out that Aberdeen has never played in the Europa League, which is very surprising for me to be honest, for us it is an unbelievable opportunity to create history," Mitov said.

"To be the first set of players to qualify for the Europa League is something we all want to do and tomorrow is the perfect opportunity for us. We need to go out there and just be ourselves.

"People say don't play the occasion, play the game, so this is going to be really important for us tomorrow."

The 28-year-old Bulgaria international has impressed for Aberdeen since arriving at the club from St Johnstone last summer.

The tie with FCSB will be his first taste of club European action.

"That is the reason why I came here - the opportunity to play in Europe," he said. "I have never played in Europe before but now I am really looking forward to it.

"I don't really look at it where you could be in the next two, three, four, five years, I look at it right now and concentrate on my own performances now.

"When you do things like that slowly you start to become better, you start to understand the game more and when you play high quality games like European games, this is where you become better.

"For me and for the whole squad, it is really exciting times ahead."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media before the first leg of his side's Europa League play-off against Romanian champions FCSB at Pittodrie on Thursday.

Here are the best bits from his news conference:

• Shayden Morris is a doubt with a knock to his leg. Thelin says he has to think of both legs rather than just the first one, so won't risk the English winger.

• New signing Kenan Bilalovic could come into the equation if Morris doesn't make it, with the manager not ruling out altering his matchday squad before tonight's deadline

• Mats Knoester returns from injury and is available, while new recruit Marko Lazetic needs a few weeks to be fully ready to compete.

• On the challenge FCSB pose, Thelin says Aberdeen are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, but stresses they must "focus" on their own performance.

• Thelin was asked if having the safety net of guaranteed Conference League football takes some of the pressure off going into these two games, but he dismissed that notion, saying they are only targeting the Europa League.

• Thelin believes his team "is growing" and is looking forward to experiencing a European atmosphere at Pittodrie.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

Aberdeen comfortably dispatched Morton to reach the last eight of the League Cup to secure their first victory of the season in tropical Greenock.

The fans in the Wee Dublin End at Cappielow had to reach for the factor 50 as the Dons made it through to a quarter-final meeting with Motherwell, knowing that many in the media were drooling at the prospect of a cup upset after the club's disappointing start to the league season.

A first goal for Kusuni Yengi will have done the big Australian striker no harm at all, so all in all it was a good day at the office for Jimmy Thelin.

Attention turns to their Europa League play-off against FCSB, the first leg of which is at Pittodrie on Thursday evening. And what a night it could be at the old place.

The financial gap between the Europa League and Conference League has increased in recent seasons and there would be significant tests in the Europa League, but it that would be a tantalising prospect.

The Romanian champions stand in their way after they came through a topsy-turvy third qualifying round tie against Drita.

Elias Charalambous' men looked dangerous in attack but vulnerable in defence in both legs against the Kosovan side, so this has to be seen as a huge chance for Aberdeen to mix it with some of Europe's big boys.

The big question remains, is the squad ready for this challenge?

Marko Lazetic's arrival from AC Milan offers another forward option, but there will be more ins and outs between now and the end of the transfer window as Thelin attempts to balance the need for positivity at home and abroad.

Aberdeen's Adil Aouchiche says training alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at Paris St-Germain gave him an education money cannot buy. (Daily Record)

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin says he will balance the signing of "potential" players with experienced campaigners in future transfer windows after making nine generally young recruits this summer. (Press & Journal)

Read the rest of Wednesday's gossip.

We asked for your views on Marko Lazetic's Aberdeen arrival.

The 21-year-old forward has signed for the Pittodrie side from AC Milan for an undisclosed fee.

Here's what some of you said:

Paddy: He may not have made the grade at Milan, but he was there for a reason. Hopefully Aberdeen can bring him on like Bojan Miovski. We need a striker badly let's hope this is the one.

Eric: Like Leighton Clarkson and Ante Palaversa, they showed great potential when younger, so there is obviously something there. Let's hope that the Dons coaching staff can bring the best out in him. A great opportunity for Lazetic to become a Dons legend, so let's hope he takes it.

Justin: Fingers crossed his goal scoring will come. He hasn't exactly been prolific but he's young and hopefully just coming into his game. Thirty goals a season would be great.

Ian: We seem to be signing players for the future on long contracts, not sure if it will help the club if they need a lot time to settle. Would be fine to see some Scottish players for change.

Fred: He is not tried and tested but presumably the recruitment team see something in him that inspires hope. I must admit I still think we need a seasoned scorer with Scottish Premiership experience.

Kieran: Could be a right bargain signing, the fans will warm to any player if they put the effort in on the pitch, hopefully he hits the ground running and becomes a Dons legend.

Glen Schreuder
Fan writer

Progression in the cup is always the most important part of these so called "tricky ties".

In reality, Saturday proved to be a very routine 3-0 win for the Dons.

Morton offered nothing, Kusini Yengi scored his first competitive goal for Aberdeen, and there were reasons to feel good.

I get why some will say "it's only Morton" or "we didn't get out of second gear", however we won and that was the main thing.

The Yengi goal was a positive, yes, but the Aussie's hold-up play and work ethic all improved.

Gavin Molloy was my man of the match. The Irishman put in an impressive showing at left-back. Sivert Heltne Nilsen has also come in for criticism, but I thought he led the team very well throughout.

Now we can look forward to the challenge of Thursday and hopefully another win to write about next week.

Glen can be found at Red Tinted Glasses, external

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Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin believes new signing Marko Lazetic can be a "potent threat" for the north east club.

The 21-year-old striker joins from Italian Serie A side AC Milan and put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Pittodrie.

"We've been monitoring Marko for a while and are very pleased to have secured his signature," Thelin told club media, external.

"He has a fantastic pedigree and despite his young age has played at high level in different leagues across Europe.

"We will have to be realistic in our expectations with Marko as it will take him a bit of time to get up to match sharpness and integrate into our way of working.

"His pre-season has been a little frustrating due to the uncertainty surrounding his future, but he's shown great patience and now he's finally arrived we're delighted to get down to the hard work with him to get him up to speed.

"We believe he will be an excellent addition to our squad. He has an imposing physical presence; good technical ability and he will provide versatility and competition for places ahead of a busy season.

"We believe we can unlock some of the undoubted raw materials that he has to make him a potent threat for Aberdeen."

Dons fans, what do you make of the signing? Are you excited to see the striker in action?

Let us know your thoughts on Lazetic's arrival

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FCSB prepared for Thursday's trip to Pittodrie with a disappointing collapse against fierce rivals Rapid Bucharest.

The Romanian champions take on Aberdeen in the first leg of their Europa League play-off this week, before the return leg in Bucharest on 28 August.

In their final outing before heading to the Granite City, FCSB led 2-0 thanks to goals from Mihai Lixandru and Daniel Birligea, but conceded twice in the final 10 minutes and were only able to draw.

Elias Charalambous' side have won only one of their first six league matches of the season and sit 13th in Romania's Superliga.

FCSB have been similarly underwhelming in European competition so far this term.

They scraped past Inter Club d'Escaldes in the Champions League first qualifying round despite a second-leg defeat in Andorra, before being beaten 3-1 on aggregate by Macedonian side KF Shkendija, dropping into Europa League qualifying as a result.

A 6-3 win over two legs against Kosovan outfit Drita set up the play-off against Aberdeen, but the Dons will fancy their chances against an opposition yet to find form.