American midfielder Romain Gall got his first taste of UEFA Champions League action on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old came off the bench in the final ten minutes as Malmo held on for a 1-1 draw against Videoton in their first leg playoff at Swedbank Stadion.
Anders Christensen gave the Swedish giants a 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute but the lead did not last long. Videoton equalized in the 71st minute through a Loic Nego finish. Gall came on in the 80th minute but was unable to change the final scoreline.
80' Vi gör vårt sista byte. Romain Gall ersätter Marcus Antonsson.#MFFVFC | 1–1
— Malmö FF (@Malmo_FF) August 7, 2018
The Hungarian side has already taken out F91 Dudelange and Ludogorets Razgrad so far in qualifying and now takes an away goal back home for next week’s second leg.
Gall made his Malmo debut last weekend in a 2-1 league win over Norrkoping, and will expect more playing time as the season goes on. The former Columbus Crew man began the season with fellow Allsvenskan side Sundsvall, where he tallied six goals and three assists in 13 matches. He then made his move to Malmo where he will fight for the league title and a place in the UEFA Champions League group stage, which kicks off in September.
Videoton hosts Malmo in the second leg on Aug. 14.
Can they really be considered champions league minutes though? I doubt Honduras thought of their world cup playoff match as getting world cup minutes.
Gall had a chance to put his team ahead in the closing minutes. He got free from his defender but his shot lacked direction and conviction. Kovacsics the Vidi golie had no trouble gathering up the low, rolling shot directed right at him. Romain was off balance, of his own making, and failed to hit the ball just right.