Just like the first leg, Strasbourg dominated right from the off, creating a host of chances.
Abdoul Ouattara twice went close before the quarter-hour mark but failed to hit the target on both occasions, as he first flashed a shot past the post before his mishit shot sailed wide.
Despite Gary O’Neil’s side looking comfortable, they were hit with a suckerpunch midway through the first period when Rijeka cut through the hosts with ease. A patient team move culminated with Amer Gojak breaking towards the byline, and his cutback was swept home by Toni Fruk, who netted his fifth goal in six appearances.
Julio Enciso had opportunities after Strasbourg fell behind, but the hosts ultimately went into half-time disappointed with their first-half performance, and the tie was finely poised with them seeing their initial 2-1 lead wiped out.
The French side came out fighting after the restart and had the ball in the back of the net inside five minutes, but Joaquun Panichelli was offside when he nodded home.
The Strasbourg striker was beginning to grow into the contest and had another opportunity to level the scoreline on the hour mark, but struggled to connect with Ismael Doukoure’s cross into the area.
Strasbourg continued to pour forward with full-time approaching, as Sebastian Nanasi sent a shot narrowly over from the edge of the box.
The pressure from Le Racing finally told with just over a quarter-hour remaining when Nanasi showed great feet to create space inside the box, and his low pass to the front post was brilliantly turned in by Valentin Barco.
That goal proved to be enough for O’Neil’s men to claim the aggregate victory and set up a quarter-final tie against Mainz, while Rijeka’s historic run comes to an end.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Valentin Barco (Strasbourg)