The Canadian Press

AC Milan, Spurs into UEFA Cup group stage

Thu Oct 2, 9:04 PM

By Rob Harris, The Associated Press

MANCHESTER, England - AC Milan eased past FC Zurich into the UEFA Cup group stage on Thursday along with two-time champion Tottenham, which squeezed past Wisla Krakow.

Borussia Dortmund, the 1997 Champions League winner, was eliminated by Udinese 4-3 on penalty kicks, but Hamburg, Stuttgart, Schalke and Wolfsburg will form a strong German representation.

Four Spanish teams - 2006 and '07 champion Sevilla, league leader Valencia, Real Santander and Deportivo La Coruna - also marched into the next phase.

England and Italy will each have three teams among the 40 in Tuesday's draw.

Andriy Shevchenko scored his first goal since returning to Milan - the only one of the night - to secure the seven-time European Cup champion's passage 4-1 on aggregate. Serie A rival Sampdoria also advanced.

Tottenham eased the pressure on under-fire manager Juande Ramos by completing a 3-1 aggregate win with a 1-1 draw at Wisla and will join Manchester City in the next phase after the newly enriched Premier League club repeated its 2-1 first-leg victory over Omonia Nicosia.

Aston Villa was held 1-1 by Litex Lovech, but was carried through 4-2 on aggregate. Standard Liege defeated Everton 2-1 to take the two-leg series 4-3.

Stuttgart drew 2-2 with Cherno More Varna, but progressed 4-3 past the Bulgaria; Schalke had a comfortable 4-1 first-leg advantage over Apoel Nicosia and played out a 1-1 draw; Wolfsburg tied Rapid Bucharest 1-1 to oust the Romanians 2-1 on aggregate; and after a scoreless first leg Hamburg overcame Unirea Valahorum Urziceni 2-0 in Romania.

Benfica turned around a 3-2 first-leg loss to beat Napoli 2-0, with goals from Jose Antonio Reyes and Nuno Gomes.

Milan, the favorite to lift the UEFA Cup next May, didn't need to exert itself to defend its 3-1 lead from the first leg at the San Siro two weeks ago.

The goal arrived when Ukraine striker Shevchenko timed his run to beat the offside trap and collect Ronaldinho's flicked pass before slipping his shot from 12 metres under Zurich goalkeeper Johnny Leoni.

"I'm extremely happy that I've finally done it," Shevchenko said after scoring for the first time since returning to Milan from Chelsea in August. "Every time it seemed something was preventing me from scoring. Today again, the goalkeeper blocked my shot at the start. Even though I could have done better, the goal finally came and it's a big step for me.

"I'm still seeking my best form."

Tottenham's progression was secured by Arkadiusz Glowacki's own-goal in the 58th minute.

The visitors had come under sustained pressure from Wisla, but menaced after the break with on-loan Manchester United striker Fraizer Campbell firing over from distance on his first start, before playing a crucial role in Tottenham's goal.

As Gareth Bale swung in a low cross from the left, Campbell was almost clinging to defender Glowacki, forcing the Wisla captain to clip the ball inside the far post.

As the Poles went in search of an equalizer, Gomes rescued Spurs by tipping over from Piotr Brozek in 80th but was beaten by his twin brother three minutes later. Pawel Brozek lobbed the onrushing Brazil goalkeeper, who made amends in the 87th by repelling the striker's header while on his knees.

Spurs, who are last in the Premier League after its worst domestic start in 53 years, held on in the anxious closing moments, with Marcelo firing fiercely over.

"There was no euphoria, it was just a sense of getting the job done," Ramos said. "To play another four matches in the competition for the club is very important. Most important now is Hull (on Sunday) and we need to get off the bottom quickly."

Udinese defender Aleksandar Lukovic converted the decisive spot kick after the Italians' goalkeeper Samir Handanovic blocked shots from Tamas Hajnal and Jakub Blaszczykowski in the shootout.

Hungary midfielder Hajnal scored at the end of each half as Dortmund evened the aggregate following Udinese's 2-0 win in the first leg.

Asier del Horno and David Villa scored second-half goals as Valencia rallied for a 2-1 victory over CS Maritimo, which trailed 1-0 going into the second leg.

Elano and Shaun Wright-Phillips scored within the first ten minutes of the second half to clinch Man City's victory over Omonia Nicosia.

The Premier League club endured an anxious final 12 minutes after Oladimeji Rasheed Alabi exploited poor defending to pull one back for the Cypriots.

Liege made amends for being denied a berth in the Champions League group stage at Liverpool by preventing its city rival Everton from progressing in the second-tier European competition.

Despite the away-goal advantage following a 2-2 draw in England, the Belgian champion took the initiative and teenager Axel Witsel slid the ball in from a tight angle in the 22nd.

Everton equalized when goalkeeper Espinoza fumbled a corner and defender Phil Jagielka pounced to jab the ball in through the legs of Standard defender Benjamin Nicaise in the 67th.

Eleven minutes later, Serb forward Jovanovic ran through the Everton defense and was brought down by Leighton Baines in the center of the penalty area. He stepped up to convert the penalty himself.

Four-time European champion Ajax breezed past Borac 2-0 to advance 6-1 on aggregate.

While Sampdoria rallied to beat Kaunas 2-1, the Italians' passage was never in doubt thanks to its 5-0 victory two weeks ago.

Spartak Moscow side defended its 1-0 first-leg advantage with a 1-1 draw.

Two-time winner Feyenoord went through on away goals, recovering from a 1-0 first-leg deficit to beat Kalmar 2-1.

LIKE IT?  LET OTHERS KNOW

Be the first to recommend - Sign in now


See what other people are recommending - Popular Stories