The qualifying round of the Champions League is over, and Italy can be proud, as Fiorentina have done the flag proud by progressing into the group stages of the prestigious competition.

The Viola brought home the advantage of two away goals, and Sporting had to score to go through to the next stage. Joao Moutinho sent one in ten minutes before the break through one of his trademark free-kicks, which beat the wall as well as the goalkeeper.

Cesare Prandelli took off Massimo Gobbi and gave Stevan Jovetic a go, with Adrian Mutu playing in a slightly more advanced role. This paid off about five minutes before the hour mark, when the Montenegro international picked up an Alberto Gilardino cross and put the ball where it belonged.

The men from the peninsula progressed into the group stages after a 3-3 aggregate owing to the two away goals scored in Lisbon.

Here are the aggregate results:

Sheriff 0-3 Olympiacos
København 2-3 APOEL
Celtic 1-5 Arsenal
Timişoara 0-2 VfB Stuttgart
Sporting 3-3 Fiorentina (on away goals)
Panathinaikos 2-5 Atlético de Madrid
PFC Levski Sofia 1-4 Debreceni VSC
Olympique Lyonnais 8-2 Anderlecht
FC Salzburg 1-5 Maccabi Haifa
FK Ventspils 1-5 FC Zürich

Football Italiano