FC Copenhagen secured an excellent position for the return leg following the first match of the Conference League third qualifying round. While the Copenhagen side didn't dazzle on the pitch, an efficient performance allowed the visitors to return home from Hungary on Thursday evening with a 3-0 away victory over Debreceni VSC.
Brazilians Gabriel Pereira and Robert, along with striker Andreas Cornelius, provided the goals that gave Bo Svensson's side the upper hand in the two-legged tie. The return match will be played on Wednesday at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.
Despite an unbeaten start to the season, FC Copenhagen have struggled to truly find their rhythm—both in the Danish Superliga and on the European stage.
Those challenges did not appear to be resolved immediately after the opening whistle of Thursday's match as the home side took the initiative from the start.
On several occasions during the first fifteen minutes, the Hungarians came close to threatening Dominik Kotarski's goal.
The visitors struggled to play their way out of the pressure, but midway through the first half, cracks began to appear in the Hungarian game.
After 20 minutes, Marcos Lopez delivered a corner into the box, where Gabriel Pereira rose high to head the visitors into the lead. The goal also injected new energy into the Danish outfit.
Their performance improved, and just under fifteen minutes later, a poor Hungarian clearance fell to the feet of Robert. He acrobatically threw himself horizontally into the air to get a shot off. The ball took a bounce on the turf, struck an opponent, and sailed over the goalkeeper to make it 2–0.
In the second half, FC Copenhagen once again struggled to put together any significant attacking play. Andreas Cornelius, however, had a golden chance to extend the lead with fifteen minutes remaining but on two occasions failed to find the net.
Things went better in stoppage time. From a Mohamed Elyounoussi corner, Cornelius rose high and confidently headed the ball into the net to make it 3–0 and leave the Hungarians with a mountain to climb before the return leg.