On August 26, 2026, at the Lyse Arena in Stavanger, Norway, Viking secured a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in the return leg of the UEFA Champions League playoff round. After a 2-2 draw in the first leg, the Norwegian side advanced to the group stage of the tournament. The referee blew the starting whistle at 22:00 Moscow time. The visitors opened the scoring in the 10th minute: Arbër Hoxha fired into the far corner after a pass from Luka Stojković — 0-1. However, Viking quickly responded and equalised in the 18th minute: Zlatko Tripić fired home from inside the box to make it 1-1. In the 27th minute, Henrik Heggheim received a yellow card for a reckless foul. The second half began with the hosts dominating: in the 46th minute, Scott McKenna saw yellow. In the 48th minute, Edvin Austbø put Viking ahead after a pass from Kristoffer Askildsen — 2-1. Just two minutes later, in the 50th minute, Tobias Møi doubled the lead after a pass from Henrik Falchener — 3-1. In the 51st minute, Vetle Auklend received a yellow card, followed by Askildsen's booking in the 52nd, Zlatko Tripić's yellow in the 57th, Joe Bell's booking in the 66th, and Mislav Oršić's yellow in the 90+4th minute. The score remained unchanged until the final whistle. Match statistics: Viking had 52% possession, recorded 14 shots on goal compared to Dinamo's 9, and completed 78% of their passes against Dinamo's 73%. Zlatko Tripić was the hero of the match, scoring the equaliser and inspiring his team to victory. Viking showed character and turned the game around after conceding first. Dinamo Zagreb, meanwhile, missed their chance to qualify for the group stage, disappointing their fans.

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