Auxerre qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 2002, beating nine-man Zenit St. Petersburg 2-0 on Wednesday to advance 2-1 on aggregate.
Cedric Hengbart rose above the Zenit defense to head in a corner by midfielder Benoit Pedretti in the ninth minute.
Auxerre doubled the lead in the 53rd. Pedretti's corner was redirected by Adama Coulibaly toward the far post to Ireneusz Jelen and the Poland forward volleyed home.
"It's a great moment for the club," Auxerre coach Jean Fernandez told Canal Plus television.
Zenit had two players sent off in the second half. Goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev handled the ball outside the area in the 65th and was dismissed. Fourteen minutes later, defender Tomas Hubocan picked up a second yellow card for handling the ball.
The Russian club won 1-0 in the first leg.
Zenit nearly equalized when Auxerre forward Roy Contout backpassed toward his goalkeeper but the ball went wide of the post in the 19th.
Zenit forward Aleksandr Kerzhakov had another chance in the 42nd, firing a volley that hit Stephane Grichting's arm. The referee waved away penalty claims.
"We suffered a bit at the end of the first half," Fernandez said. "I was a bit worried because we were dominated. At halftime, I told (the players) it was important to start the second half well. And that's what we did, by scoring that second goal."
Vladimir Bystrov gave Auxerre a scare in the 50th, cutting inside to hit an angled shot that was tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Olivier Sorin.
Despite its numerical superiority, Auxerre was shaky in the closing minutes. Kerzhakov and center back Bruno Alves almost scored the away goal that would have taken Zenit through.
"We had the opportunity to score the third goal that would have protected us but instead we suffered until the end," Fernandez said.
Jelen missed chances in the 83rd and the 92nd minutes.
