Former European champions Ajax, Chelsea, and FCSB successfully navigated their way through the qualifying stages in lesser European competitions on Thursday.

In the Europa League, four-time champions Ajax comfortably advanced after a 3-0 victory over Poland's Jagiellonia, with goals from Kian Fitz-Jim, Kenneth Taylor, and Brian Brobbey. This win, combined with their first-leg success in Bialystok, saw them progress with a 7-1 aggregate score.

Romanian club FCSB, previously known as Steaua Bucharest and winners of the 1986 European Cup, narrowly made it through. Darius Olaru's injury-time goal secured a 1-0 win at home against Austria's LASK, resulting in a 2-1 aggregate victory.

In Istanbul, Ciro Immobile continued his impressive form for Besiktas, scoring twice as the Turkish side thrashed Switzerland's Lugano 5-1, completing an 8-4 aggregate win in the Europa League. Immobile now has six goals in just three games since moving to Turkey.

Chelsea, competing in the third-tier Conference League, faced a tough challenge against Servette despite having a two-goal advantage from the first leg. After Christophe Nkunku's penalty gave them an early lead in Geneva, Servette fought back with goals from Jeremy Guillemenot and Enzo Crivelli. Although Servette won 2-1 on the night, Chelsea advanced with a narrow 3-2 aggregate score. Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca acknowledged the difficulty of the match, noting, "In the end, we deserved it."

Fiorentina, last season's beaten finalists in the Conference League, had a dramatic night in Hungary against Puskas Akademia. Despite taking a 59th-minute lead through Moises Kean, Fiorentina's discipline faltered. They conceded a last-minute penalty, and then, reduced to nine men after two red cards, they held on through extra time and won the penalty shootout 5-4, with goalkeeper David de Gea saving the crucial spot-kick.

Elsewhere, Welsh side New Saints secured their spot in the Conference League group stage after a 0-0 home draw with Lithuanians Panevezys, having led 3-0 from the first leg. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's Larne, down to 10 men, relied on three penalties from Andrew Ryan to complete a comeback victory against Gibraltar's Red Imps. Despite trailing early, Ryan's hat-trick from the spot saw Larne through, with the final penalty coming after Christopher Gallagher was sent off.