UEFA Cup round-up: Milan, Spurs, Villa crash out
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Favourites AC Milan were eliminated from the UEFA Cup after throwing away a two-goal lead against Werder Bremen, while England will have just one representative in the last 16 after Aston Villa and Tottenham were knocked out after fielding weakened teams.
Having drawn the first leg 1-1 in Germany, Milan were thought well placed to progress in the return meeting at San Siro and first-half goals from Andrea Pirlo and Alexandre Pato seemed to set the Rossoneri on a smooth path into the next round.
However, Bremen came storming back to tie on aggregate as Claudio Pizarro scored twice in in the second half to eliminate the seven-time European champions and set up a meeting with St Etienne in the round of 16.
Tottenham drew 1-1 with Shakhtar Donetsk to go out 3-1 and Villa were beaten by CSKA Moscow 2-0, leaving only Manchester City to go through following a 2-1 win over FC Copenhagen.
Although they were chasing a 2-0 deficit from the first leg, Tottenham rested almost their entire first team ahead of Sunday's Carling Cup final against Manchester United.
Giovani dos Santos scored his first goal for Spurs in the 56th minute and Harry Redknapp's men looked more likely to get another goal, but Fernandinho equalised with four minutes left.
Villa also rested majority of their first-team regulars, including England internationals Emile Heskey, Gareth Barry and Gabriel Agbonlahor, and his second-string side conceded two second-half goals to lose to 2005 champion CSKA.
Yury Zhirkov scored in the 61st minute with a low, left-foot shot before Vagner Love sealed the victory in injury time.
At Mestalla, Dynamo Kiev drew 2-2 with Valencia to advance on away goals.
Both teams were tied at 1-1 following the first meeting, but a brace from Artem Kravets ensured Dynamo will meet Metalist Kharkiv in the next round.
Dutch giants Ajax needed a late equaliser to book a 2-1 aggregate win against Fiorentina.
The Viola went ahead through Alberto Gilardino's second-half strike and the match looked to be heading into extra-time before Leonardo struck with just two minutes left on the clock to book a last-16 meeting with Marseille, who advanced thanks to a dramatic 7-6 win on penalties after their tie against FC Twente had finished 1-1 over two legs.
The French side's tenacity paid off when Hatem Ben Arfa levelled the aggregate scores in the 24th minute but, when neither side found a winner, it took 16 penalties to settle the tie with Slobodan Rajković missing the decisive kick for the home side.
Holders Zenit St Petersburg continued their defence with a second straight 2-1 win over Stuttgart.
Viktor Fayzulin and Igor Semshov were the men on target for Zenit, sandwiching a Stuttgart consolation from Timo Gebhart.
Others scorline in UEFA Cup on Thursday:
Also see:
Technorati tags:World soccer Soccer news Football news UEFA Cup AC Milan Aston Villa Tottenham
Having drawn the first leg 1-1 in Germany, Milan were thought well placed to progress in the return meeting at San Siro and first-half goals from Andrea Pirlo and Alexandre Pato seemed to set the Rossoneri on a smooth path into the next round.
However, Bremen came storming back to tie on aggregate as Claudio Pizarro scored twice in in the second half to eliminate the seven-time European champions and set up a meeting with St Etienne in the round of 16.
Tottenham drew 1-1 with Shakhtar Donetsk to go out 3-1 and Villa were beaten by CSKA Moscow 2-0, leaving only Manchester City to go through following a 2-1 win over FC Copenhagen.
Although they were chasing a 2-0 deficit from the first leg, Tottenham rested almost their entire first team ahead of Sunday's Carling Cup final against Manchester United.
Giovani dos Santos scored his first goal for Spurs in the 56th minute and Harry Redknapp's men looked more likely to get another goal, but Fernandinho equalised with four minutes left.
Villa also rested majority of their first-team regulars, including England internationals Emile Heskey, Gareth Barry and Gabriel Agbonlahor, and his second-string side conceded two second-half goals to lose to 2005 champion CSKA.
Yury Zhirkov scored in the 61st minute with a low, left-foot shot before Vagner Love sealed the victory in injury time.
At Mestalla, Dynamo Kiev drew 2-2 with Valencia to advance on away goals.
Both teams were tied at 1-1 following the first meeting, but a brace from Artem Kravets ensured Dynamo will meet Metalist Kharkiv in the next round.
Dutch giants Ajax needed a late equaliser to book a 2-1 aggregate win against Fiorentina.
The Viola went ahead through Alberto Gilardino's second-half strike and the match looked to be heading into extra-time before Leonardo struck with just two minutes left on the clock to book a last-16 meeting with Marseille, who advanced thanks to a dramatic 7-6 win on penalties after their tie against FC Twente had finished 1-1 over two legs.
The French side's tenacity paid off when Hatem Ben Arfa levelled the aggregate scores in the 24th minute but, when neither side found a winner, it took 16 penalties to settle the tie with Slobodan Rajković missing the decisive kick for the home side.
Holders Zenit St Petersburg continued their defence with a second straight 2-1 win over Stuttgart.
Viktor Fayzulin and Igor Semshov were the men on target for Zenit, sandwiching a Stuttgart consolation from Timo Gebhart.
Others scorline in UEFA Cup on Thursday:
| Deportivo | 1-3 | AaB |
| Metalist | 2-0 | Sampdoria |
| Galatasaray | 4-3 | Bordeaux |
| Hamburg | 1-0 | NEC |
| St Etienne | 2-1 | Olympiakos |
| Standard Liège | 1-1 | Braga |
| Udinese | 2-1 | Lech Poznań |
| Wolfsburg | 1-3 | PSG |
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Also see:
- UEFA Cup round-up: Double delight for Dutch clubs
- UEFA Cup round-up: Holders snatch victory; Valencia and Milan held
- Ancelotti includes Beckham in UEFA Cup squad
- UEFA Cup round-up: Wolfsburg and Hamburg claim top spots
- UEFA Cup round-up: Hamburg, Aston Villa and Ajax qualify; Portsmouth out
Technorati tags:World soccer Soccer news Football news UEFA Cup AC Milan Aston Villa Tottenham
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