Conference League: Dinamo Tbilisi outclass Žalgiris 3–0 to take commanding lead into second leg #1TVSPORT

Dinamo Tbilisi secured a resounding 3–0 victory over Lithuanian side Žalgiris in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League second qualifying round tie.

Temur Ketsbaia’s side welcomed back Jaba Kankava to the matchday squad following a prolonged injury lay-off. Before the action got underway on the pitch, there was a heartwarming display of solidarity in the stands: Dinamo supporters began chanting “Lietuva! Lietuva!”, to which the visiting Baltic fans responded in kind with “Sakartvelo! Sakartvelo!”, a fitting continuation of the warm ties between the two clubs.

The Tbilisi side established dominance early on, driven forward by the lively Tornike Kvaratskhelia. After carving through the opposition defence with a clever dribble, Kvaratskhelia set up Léo Santos, though the goalkeeper thwarted the Brazilian forward’s effort. Just two minutes later, Santos found himself one-on-one with the keeper again, but the visitors managed to escape unscathed once more.

The pressure proved relentless, however. From the resulting corner in the 14th minute, Numan Kurdić powered home a header to break the deadlock and put Dinamo ahead.

In the 26th minute, a sublime pass from Ninua left Léo Santos unmarked in front of goal; although his initial attempt was saved, he converted the rebound to double the hosts’ lead.

Dinamo struck again in the 41st minute when Ninua’s free-kick rattled the woodwork, allowing Nikoloz Ugrekhelidze to pounce on the bounce and slot home a third.

With no further goals in the second half, the hosts comfortably controlled the remainder of the contest to seal a 3–0 victory.

Dinamo Tbilisi will travel to Kaunas for the return leg against Žalgiris on July 30. The winner of the tie will advance to face either Hajduk Split of Croatia or Pafos FC of Cyprus in the next round.