Beşiktaş booked their place in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round with an impressive 2-0 victory at FC Midtjylland on Thursday, completing a 3-0 aggregate triumph that underlined the disciplined start to Vincenzo Italiano's first European campaign in charge.

After edging the Danish side 1-0 in Istanbul a week earlier thanks to an Orkun Kökçü goal, the Black Eagles produced another composed display at MCH Arena in Herning, keeping a second consecutive clean sheet before second-half goals from Milot Rashica and Kökçü sealed a comfortable passage into the next round.

The result also extended Beşiktaş's unbeaten defensive record in Europe this season, as the Turkish club navigated the two-legged tie without conceding against a Midtjylland side that reached the Europa League knockout stages last season.

English referee John Brooks officiated the match, assisted by Neil Davies and Nicholas Greenhalgh.

Midtjylland made the brighter start and nearly erased the first-leg deficit within three minutes. Dario Osorio slipped a pass into Franculino Dju inside the penalty area, but the forward struck the post after controlling the ball.

Beşiktaş responded immediately. Vaclav Cerny released Junior Olaitan with a perfectly weighted through ball, but the winger's effort from the right side of the area found only the side netting.

The Danish hosts continued to threaten throughout the opening half. Dju rattled the woodwork again in the 32nd minute with an audacious outside-of-the-foot effort from the edge of the penalty area, while Beşiktaş came close two minutes later when Kökçü found Cerny, whose low shot from a tight angle drifted narrowly wide.

Neither side could find a breakthrough before halftime despite an entertaining, end-to-end opening 45 minutes.

Beşiktaş emerged with greater control after the restart.

Oh Hyeon-gyu tested goalkeeper Elias Olafsson from distance in the 50th minute before the contest swung decisively three minutes later. Midtjylland defender Martin Erlic was shown a second yellow card after bringing down Oh in midfield, reducing the home side to 10 men.

The visitors quickly began to exploit the numerical advantage.

Kökçü came within inches of scoring in the 59th minute after collecting Oh's clever through ball, only to see his first-time strike cannon off the post.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 70th minute.

Olaitan burst forward before threading a pass into substitute Milot Rashica, who calmly slotted past Olafsson from close range to put Beşiktaş ahead on the night and effectively end Midtjylland's hopes of a comeback.

Four minutes later, Beşiktaş earned a penalty when Rasmus Kristensen brought down İlhan Fakılı inside the area.

Kökçü confidently converted from the spot in the 76th minute, sending Olafsson the wrong way to double the advantage and cap another influential performance.

The Turkish side comfortably saw out the remaining minutes to secure another clean sheet and complete a convincing aggregate victory.

Beşiktaş will next face Czech club FC Hradec Kralove in the third qualifying round after they eliminated Norway's Tromso 4-1 on aggregate with victories both home and away.

The first leg will be played in the Czech Republic on Aug. 6 before the return match in Istanbul on Aug. 13. The winner of the tie will advance to the Europa League playoff round, while the losing side will drop into the UEFA Conference League playoffs.

Head coach Vincenzo Italiano applauded his team's maturity, believing they executed the game plan exactly as intended.

"We did a good job. Winning on this pitch is really difficult," Italiano said. "We struggled in the first half but were much better in the second. We scored two goals and kept clean sheets in both matches, which is very important."

"Because we won the first leg, we didn't need to take unnecessary risks. They pressed us well, so we played more directly. We scored with our first real opportunity in the second half, then they went down to 10 men. We played intelligently, stayed organized and achieved what mattered most, which was qualifying."

The Italian also warned that the challenge will become even greater against Hradec Kralove.

"We eliminated a strong opponent that performed well in the Europa League last season. We deserved to go through," he said. "Our next opponent also won both of their matches, so we know another difficult test is waiting. There are no easy games in European football."

"We want to go as far as we can. Qualifying gives the team confidence, and as our physical condition improves, we'll become even stronger. Last season I had to rotate constantly because of a busy schedule. Right now we're competing in only one tournament, so I rewarded the players who performed well in the first leg. Once we reach the league phase, there will naturally be more rotation."

Kökçü's goals in both legs secured his place in Beşiktaş history, making him the club's first Turkish player since Cenk Tosun against Hapoel Be'er Sheva in 2017 to score in both matches of a two-legged European qualifying tie.

Italiano also reached a notable milestone, becoming only the second foreign coach after Bernd Schuster to guide Beşiktaş through a two-legged European qualifier without conceding a goal.

Beşiktaş marched into the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round with a composed 2-0 victory at Midtjylland to complete a 3-0 aggregate triumph, as Milot Rashica and Orkun Kökçü struck after halftime, Vincenzo Italiano celebrated back-to-back clean sheets, and the Black Eagles set up a showdown with Czech side Hradec Kralove.