Sixteen teams, several with plenty of continental pedigree, gave fans much to follow on Thursday evening. The game in Slovenia produced the most goals, as Celje outlasted Sabah Baku in time. A Joy Lance Mickels hat-trick in normal time kept the Azeris in the tie, as they led less than 10 minutes in. Although the guests went behind shortly after the interval, the striker scored twice in the space of a minute just past the hour mark.
The winner came in the second half of extra time, as Nikita Iosifov converted his opportunity to send Celje through. It was the first time that the club have successfully negotiated a Europa League tie.
Extra time was nearly required in Sweden, as Spartak Trnava overcame a two-goal aggregate deficit against Hacken. Roman Prochazka and Giorgi Moistsrapishvili found the back of the net in the second half to give the Slovak side hope. However, just as normal time was coming to a close, John Dembe played hero with his goal as the home side advanced 3-2 on aggregate.
Both of the teams who won convincingly the previous Thursday - Shakhtar Donetsk and Sheriff Tiraspol - failed to win their return leg game. The Ukrainians drew 0-0 in Finland versus Ilves, advancing 6-0 overall. As for Sheriff, they were beaten 2-1 away to Prishtina. That seldom made a difference though, as the Moldvoan Cup winners progressed with a 5-2 aggregate score. Meanwhile, Legia Warsaw left it late to get their winner in a 1-0 defeat of Aktobe, which was the same scoreline as the first leg.
After a scoreless first leg in Hungary, CFR Cluj managed to get the job done against Paksi at home. Razvan Fica netted what proved to be the winning goal 10 minutes before the break.
The guests had a penalty midway through the second half. Balint Vescei stepped up, but was denied by Otto Hindrick. Fortunately for the midfielder, the referee requested that the penalty be retaken due to encroachment. This time, Vescei missed the target. That proved to be pivotal, as the side who finished second in Romania scored twice late on to prevail 3-0 on the night and on aggregate.
Penalty kicks were required in Nyiregyhaza, as Levski Sofia and Hapoel Be'er Sheva played to a 1-1 draw after extra time. That was when Nev Iliassi stepped up and played hero, stopping three penalties for the Bulgarians as they won 3-1 in the shootout.
There was even more drama in Serbia, as Partizan Belgrade came from behind twice - once in normal time, and then again in extra time - to force penalties against AEK Larnaca. The hosts won 2-1 on the night, making it 2-2 on aggregate. After eight rounds of spot kicks, it was the Cypriots who won 6-5 to move on.
The eight defeated sides in this round transfer to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. There is no rest for these teams, who will partake in the next stage over the coming two Thursdays.
Follow all of the UEFA Europa Leauge qualifying matches on Flashscore.