Tottenham’s conquerors Shakhtar Donetsk took a big step towards the last four of the UEFA Cup after beating Marseille 2-0 in their quarter-final first leg. Tomas Hubschman set the Ukrainian side on their way in the first half and Rodrigues Jadson added a second after the break as Shakhtar continued their impressive run.
Shakhtar beat Spurs and CSKA Moscow in the last two rounds and looked superior to their visitors, who went into the game on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run in the French Ligue 1 which included six wins.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS to get more great posts like this
AC Milan were dumped out of the UEFA Cup after throwing away a two-goal lead in their last-32 second-leg clash with Werder Bremen. Having drawn the first leg 1-1 in Germany, there was some pressure on the Italians going into the return match. First-half goals from Andrea Pirlo and Alexandre Pato seemed to set Milan on a smooth path into the next round only for Claudio Pizarro’s brace to put Bremen through on away goals.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS to get more great posts like this
Ajax took a smash-and-grab win from their trip to Florence with a goal from Kennedy Bakircioglu giving Marco van Basten’s side a 1-0 win over last year’s semi-finalists Fiorentina. It had been one-way traffic for much of the night at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, but Bakircioglu’s 60th-minute strike against the run of play showed the home side the way to goal.
The Viola were unable to respond and missed a hatful of chances to leave them a mountain to climb in Holland next week.
Marko Arnautovic’s first-half strike earned Ajax’s Eredivisie rivals FC Twente a first-leg victory over an off-colour Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS to get more great posts like this
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp had an entire team injured, rested or ineligible at the RSC Olympiyskiy for the first leg against the Ukrainian champions – and his makeshift side held on until 12 minutes from full-time before they lost 2-0 in the UEFA Cup last-32 clash against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Yevgen Seleznov opened the scoring with a header from a free-kick, then Jadson added a second with two minutes remaining.
Dean Parrett, 17, made his debut and the likes of Oscar Jansson, Adam Smith, John Bostock, Ryan Mason and Jonathan Obika could be called upon for the return leg at White Hart Lane.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS to get more great posts like this
UEFA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg shook off the rust to win the first leg of their last-32 showdown with Stuttgart 2-1.
Szabolcs Huszti gave Zenit the lead after just two minutes only for Mario Gomez to equalise, but Anatoliy Tymoshchuk – who has agreed to join to Bayern Munich next season – made it 2-1 two minutes into first-half stoppage time.
Valencia put their poor recent domestic form behind them to take a slight advantage in their tie against 10-man Dynamo Kiev with a 1-1 draw at the Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS to get more great posts like this
John Carew handed Aston Villa a UEFA Cup lifeline with a second-half equaliser as they drew 1-1 in the last-32 first-leg clash with CSKA Moscow at Villa Park. The Norway international struck his eighth goal of the campaign after Vagner Love had broken the deadlock.
Martin O’Neill’s men dominated the second 45 minutes but the visitors somehow survived the onslaught. It was a classic confrontation contrasting the technical skills and movement of the Russian side and the more direct but equally threatening approach of Villa.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS to get more great posts like this
Attention turns back to European club competition next Wednesday as the UEFA Cup Round of 32 gets under way.
For a host of teams, these two-legged ties represent their first competitive football of the year, but that predicament was no hindrance to Zenit St. Petersburg last season when they went all the way to lift their first European trophy. After finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group, Zenit return to defend the title, yet like 12 months ago when they overcame Villarreal at this stage on away goals, they face tough opponents in VfB Stuttgart.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS to get more great posts like this
The three English teams left in the UEFA Cup, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, all face tricky ties in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.
Villa and Tottenham will both face eastern European opposition, with Aston Villa drawing Russian side CSKA Moscow and Spurs travelling to Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, who enter the competition having finished third in their Champions League group. Manchester City will play Danish side FC Copenhagen.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS to get more great posts like this
With a host of Serie A news-and-information sites and blogs found throughout the Internet, Soccer Tickets Online points you towards some of this month’s more interesting topics.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS to get more great posts like this
With a host of La Liga news-and-information sites and blogs found throughout the Internet, Soccer Tickets Online points you towards some of this month’s more interesting topics.
Subscribe to our blog via RSS to get more great posts like this
