BERLIN, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Emil Forsberg's late goal helped Leipzig to book the group stage after craving out a narrow 3-2 victory over resilient Zorya Luhansk at the second leg of the Europa League qualification on Thursday.
Leipzig secured their second straight season in Europe after snatching a late win against Ukrainian outfit Luhansk, who held the tickets for the group stage in their hands until the dying minutes of the game.
After a disappointing goalless draw on the road against 10-man Luhansk, the "Bulls" started highly motivated into the encounter and reaped a perfect start as Timo Werner deflected Cunha's shot on target to make it 1-0 on the scoreboards in the 7th minute.
The hosts continued on the front foot and Werner worked out a number of promising chances. However, the second goal was scored at the other end of the pitch as Ratao headed home a cross into the box to level the scores in the 35th minute.
Leipzig remained unimpressed and pressed forward as only a victory would be enough for the hosts to qualify for the group stage. Werner came to another chance before the break when he rattled the bar with a long-range effort in the 43rd minute.
Nevertheless, things went from bad to worse after the restart as Luhansk turned the tides and grabbed the lead out the blue in the 48th minute when Artem Gordiyenko tapped home Oleksandr Karavaev at the far post to shock the home side.
Ralf Rangnick's men pressed frenetically for the equalizer and yet they had to wait until the 69th before substitute Jean-Kevin Augustin benefitted on Werner's pinpoint chip into the box to restore parity.
It looked like Luhansk would snatch an unexpected draw on the road but the referee Danny Makkelie awarded Leipzig a handball penalty in the closing period. Emil Forsberg stepped up and made no mistake to mark the 3-2 lead in the 90th minute.
UEFA Europe League's group stage draw will be held in Monaco on Friday. A total of 48 clubs are involved in the group stage draw.
