Liverpool crashes to home Europa defeat

Updated October 05, 2012 09:29:21

Liverpool crumbled to a 3-2 Europa League defeat to Udinese at Anfield as its roller-coaster season continued while Premier League rivals Newcastle cruised past Bordeaux 3-0.

Liverpool had been good value for a half-time lead after Jonjo Shelvey headed them in front in the 23rd minute.

But veteran striker Antonio Di Natale levelled for the Italians just after the interval before Sebastian Coates put through his own goal in the 70th minute and Giovanni Pasquale added a third two minutes later.

Uruguay star Luis Suarez curled in a free-kick with 15 minutes to go to reduce the deficit but Liverpool was unable to make a further breakthrough.

The Reds will next face Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala which defeated Young Boys of Switzerland 2-0 to lead Group A with Samuel Eto'o scoring two second-half goals.

"We were very good in the first half but we had problems in the first 20 minutes of the second half, when we lost concentration and became lazy," said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

"We are just disappointed that having controlled the game for long periods we gave away such poor goals."

Shola Ameobi, with his 13th European goal, Henrique and Senegal international Papiss Cisse were all on target in Newcastle's comfortable win over French side Bordeaux.

Newcastle lead Group D with four points from two games.

"We were expecting a little more from Bordeaux," said Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye.

"It was important to take the three points, but now it's just as important to concentrate on our next Premier League game against Manchester United on Sunday."

Tottenham, fresh from upstaging Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend, was held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Panathinaikos in Athens.

Spurs were in control of their Group J fixture against a side reeling from the sacking of their captain Kostas Katsouranis after Michael Dawson's first half header.

But their Greek hosts battled back to scrape an unlikely draw after the break courtesy of Spanish striker Toche.

With Lazio beating Slovenian outfit Maribor 1-0, missing a penalty in the process, Spurs slipped to third place behind their Serie A rivals who had Ederson to thank for their win.

Champions Atletico Madrid are one of just three teams still to have a 100 per cent record after Cristian Rodriguez scored in the last minute to secure a 1-0 win over Viktoria Plzen in Group B.

AFP

Tags: uefa-cup, soccer, sport, england, united-kingdom, italy

First posted October 05, 2012 08:51:59

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Liverpool, Inter into Europa League group stage

Updated August 31, 2012 10:28:30

European heavyweights Liverpool and Inter Milan qualified for the Europa League group stage after coming through their respective play-off ties overnight.

Luis Suarez's goal sent Liverpool into the knock-out phase with a 1-1 draw against Scottish Premier League side Hearts.

Brendan Rodgers' team had a 1-0 advantage from last week's first leg at Tynecastle but despite dominating for long periods at Anfield, they failed to put the visitors out of reach.

David Templeton looked set to make them pay for their wastefulness when his weak shot was allowed into the net by Pepe Reina with six minutes left.

But four minutes later Suarez burst away down the left and managed to find the net from close-range.

At San Siro, Inter made life complicated for themselves with the 33rd minute sending off of goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi. Unheralded Romanian visitors Vaslui converted the subsequent penalty to take a shock lead.

Inter's Rodrigo Palaccio levelled but Vaslui regained the advantage only for Fredy Guarin to grab an injury time equaliser to put the Serie A giants through 4-2 on aggregate,

Liverpool has Premier League company in the knockout stages as Newcastle edged Greek side Atromitos 1-0 at St James' Park, the goal coming from substitute Haris Vuckic, to qualify 2-1 and join compatriots Tottenham Hotspur in the group stage draw in Monaco.

Last season's Europea League runners-up Athletic Bilbao was held 3-3 in Finland by HJK but coasted through with a 9-3 aggregate win.

The main upset of the evening came in Russia where heavyweights CSKA Moscow succumbed 2-0 to Swedish outfit AIK to crash out 3-0 on aggregate.

In contrast CSKA's ambitious compatriots Anzhi Makhachkala meted out a 5-0 drubbing to AZ Alkmaar, with Samuel Eto'o on the scoresheet.

But Serie A's Lazio and French duo Marseille and Bordeaux all go through after wins over Mura of Slovenia, Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova and Red Star Belgrade respectively.

The most lopsided result of the night came courtesy of PSV Eindhoven who thumped hapless FK Zeta of Montenegro 9-0 for a cricket-style aggregate score of 14-0.

In total 30 teams booked their tickets into the competition proper, as well as Stuttgart which won its play-off against Dinamo Moscow on Tuesday.

This group join seven teams automatically qualified and ten refugees from the Champion League play-offs.

AFP

Tags: sport, soccer, england, united-kingdom

First posted August 31, 2012 10:24:30

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Falcao fires Atletico Madrid to Europa title

Updated May 10, 2012 08:01:50

A double by Colombian striker Radamel Falcao inspired Atletico Madrid to a 3-0 win over fellow Spaniards Athletic Bilbao in Bucharest and their second Europa League trophy in three seasons.

Falcao, who also became the first player to win successive Europa League/UEFA Cups with different sides having scored the winning goal for Porto last year, scored a brilliant first-half double to take his tally for this season's competition to 12.

"I am grateful for this moment that few players have the chance to experience, grateful to all the team, my colleagues, the coaching staff," Falcao told Spanish TV.

Brazilian attacking midfielder Diego, who was suspended for the 2009 final for Werder Bremen against winners Shakhtar Donetsk, added a third late in the 83rd minute to give Argentinian coach Diego Simeone a trophy just months after he took over the top job.

"It was a tough match, an extraordinary match, almost perfect," Diego said.

"We played it so that it was an easy finish but we were facing the magnificent team that is Athletic Bilbao."

Atletico's victory also saw them break Barcelona's record of 11 successive wins in European competition set in the 2002/03 Champions League campaign.

Athletic Bilbao's coach Marcelo Bielsa took responsiblity for his side's defeat.

"I am disappointed, we did not play a good match," said the former Argentina coach, who guided the Argentinians to the 2004 Olympic title.

"I am in charge of the strategy of the squad who failed to achieve its objective, which makes the disappointment even greater.

"Atletico deserved their win, but the scale of it was excessive.

"The feeling of personal responsiblity increases in the sense that the difference in quality of the two teams is not the one shown tonight."

Bilbao started nervously, twice giving away possession at the back, and had barely got into the match when Atletico went ahead in the seventh minute.

Adrian Lopez sent Falcao away down the right, the Colombian ran into the area, checked, made space for his shot and curled the ball into the top corner on the turn.

Fernando Llorente directed a header and then a volley wide of goal from close range as Athletic finally sprang into action before Iker Muniain had a low shot parried by Thibaut Courtois.

But Atletico, always looking more dangerous, went further ahead on 34 minutes when Bilbao lost possession on the edge of the area, and Arda Turdan found Falcao who brilliantly twisted past his marker to fire the second into the roof of the net.

Bilbao improved greatly after the break and made an immediate impact as Muniain burst down the right and delivered a low cross which Miranda did well to put behind for a corner.

Athletic's Ibai Gomez fired over the bar and fellow half-time substitute Inigo Perez caused Courtouis a fright with a dipping 35-metre free kick, though they also had a let off when Atletico forward Lopez fired wide after working a good shooting chance.

Oscar de Marcos wasted another chance for Bilbao then Markel Susaeta had a shot deflected agonisingly wide but their hopes of a fightback ended with Diego's late individual effort.

"It was a tough match, an extraordinary match, almost perfect," Diego told Spanish TV.

"We played it so that it was an easy finish but we were facing the magnificent team that is Athletic Bilbao."

AFP/Reuters

Tags: uefa-cup, soccer, sport, spain, romania

First posted May 10, 2012 07:25:39

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Holman strikes in Europa quarters

Updated March 30, 2012 09:21:17

Socceroos star Brett Holman scored once and set another up as AZ Alkmaar triumphed 2-1 over Valencia in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

Holman, who will move to Aston Villa next season, volleyed in a Maarten Martens' corner on the stroke of half-time but Mehmet Topal headed the equaliser for the Spaniards soon after the interval.

Martens found the target from Holman's tearing run and cross in the 79th-minute to give his side the upper hand ahead of the second leg.

Fernando Llorente grabbed a brace as Athletic Bilbao proved their conquest of Manchester United was no fluke with a 4-2 win at Schalke.

Llorente struck in the 20th and 73rd minutes in Gelsenkirchen after veteran compatriot Raul had scored twice to give the German side a 2-1 lead on the hour mark before Bilbao hit three goals in the last 17 minutes.

After Llorente had levelled for 2-2, Oscar de Marcos and Iker Muniain scored in the closing 10 minutes while Schalke's Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar hit the post with a smart volley.

Bilbao will start as comfortable favourites to make the semi-finals when the second leg is played at home next week although it will have defensive midfielder Ander Iturraspe suspended.

Raul's goals, his second a fine volley, also extended his record as Europe's deadliest striker with the 34-year-old now having 76 goals in European competition, six more than Filippo Inzaghi.

Atletico Madrid, the 2010 champions, needed a goal a minute from time to edge another German side Hanover 2-1 in Spain.

Falcao fired Atletico in front after nine minutes with Mame Biram Diouf levelling for Hanover seven minutes from half-time.

But substitute Eduardio Salvio popped up in the 89th minute to give Atletico a narrow lead.

Sporting Lisbon, who knocked out Manchester City in the last 16, saw off Metalist Kharkov 2-1, but were left to regret conceding a last-minute penalty against the Ukrainians.

Metalist secured their vital away goal after Sporting goalkeeper Rui Patricio had brought down substitute Marko Devic allowing Cleiton Xavier to score from the spot.

Unbeaten in their last 10 European home games, Sporting went ahead through Marat Izmailov in the 51st minute with Emiliano Insua adding a second 13 minutes later.

AFP

Tags: uefa-cup, soccer, sport, netherlands, germany, spain, portugal

First posted March 30, 2012 09:21:17

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Early Europa delight for United and City

Updated February 17, 2012 13:22:56

Manchester United and Manchester City both made winning starts to their Europa League campaigns this morning (AEDT) putting them in the box seat to advance in the competition.

Goals from Ashley Young and Javier Hernandez handed United a 2-0 first leg victory over Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena while City came from behind to beat defending champions Porto 2-1 at Estadio do Dragao.

A late goal from substitute Sergio Aguero completed a precious away win for Roberto Mancini's side and condemned Porto to its first home defeat in European competition in eight games.

Silvestre Varela had given Porto the lead mid-way through the first half but Alvaro Pereira's 55th-minute own goal drew the Premier League leaders level before Aguero secured victory with six minutes to play.

Having emerged from one of Europe's most daunting away grounds with victory - not to mention two away goals - City will be favourites to progress ahead of the second leg at Eastlands next Wednesday.

"I think that we played a good game," City coach Mancini told ITV.

"We played very well. In the first half we had three or four chances to score and we were really unlucky. In the second half we played really well.

"We had several chances to score in this game and we didn't leave chances to Porto. That's important, because Porto are a good team."

In Amsterdam, Young, who has only recently returned to action following a lengthy injury lay-off, struck United's first on 59 minutes before Hernandez added the second five minutes from time to give the English champions a commanding advantage.

"I'm delighted with the scoreline," said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

"It was a very ordinary performance by us. We didn't reach any great heights in the game but we did improve in the second half and we deserved to win it."

Ferguson said Hernandez' late strike had given United a golden chance to advance to the last 16.

"It gives us a good opportunity," Ferguson said.

"We're not taking anything for granted but at home, at Old Trafford - we've now got a good opportunity to get through."

United and City found themselves in European football's second-tier tournament following their failures to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League last December.

Stoke City was unable to make it a triple celebration for the Premier League when it lost 1-0 to Valencia at the Britannia Stadium.

Mehmet Topal scored the only goal in the 36th minute with a stunning 30-yard strike.

Spain's Atletico Madrid saw off Lazio 3-1 in Rome despite falling behind to a 19th-minute goal from German striker Miroslav Klose.

Adrian Lopez levelled before Radamel Falcao - who lifted the trophy with Porto last season - grabbed a brace for Atletico.

Former England manager Steve McClaren saw his Dutch side FC Twente edge Steaua Bucharest 1-0 in Romania thanks to a second-half strike from Ola John.

AFP

Tags: sport, uefa-cup, soccer, netherlands, england, united-kingdom

First posted February 17, 2012 07:43:47

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UK contenders dumped out of Europa

Updated December 16, 2011 11:46:47

A heroic draw against Udinese in Italy was not enough for Celtic to qualify for the Europa League knockout stages while Birmingham City joined Tottenham Hotspur in going out despite winning their final group games.

Despite having won just once on its travels in Europe in more than eight years, Celtic needed to beat the Serie A high-fliers in north-eastern Italy to go through from Group I at its hosts' expense.

It looked like Celtic might just achieve a memorable result as it took the lead just before the half-hour mark when Gary Hooper benefited from a lucky ricochet inside the six-yard box to tap home following a Giorgos Samaras cross from the left.

But Udinese hit back just before the break, the prolific Antonio Di Natale making no mistake after Cha Du-Ri inadvertently played the ball into his path.

Udinese will join group winners Atletico Madrid - who beat Rennes 3-1 - in the next round.

Birmingham, currently in the English Championship, is also out despite beating Maribor of Slovenia 1-0 at St Andrews thanks to a first-half Adam Rooney header.

Last season's League Cup winners needed Braga to beat Brugge in the other game in Group H, but that always appeared a big ask after the Portuguese side had Elderson Echiejile sent off early on.

Ewerton did equalise for Braga after Bjorn Vleminckx had given Brugge the lead, but the Belgians claimed the point they needed to go through, leaving Chris Hughton's men to return to their battle to win an immediate return to the Premier League.

Earlier, Tottenham bowed out from Group A despite winning 4-0 away to Irish champions Shamrock Rovers thanks to goals from Steven Pienaar, Andros Townsend, Jermaine Defoe and Harry Kane.

The Premier League side needed to win whilst hoping that Rubin Kazan lost in its game away to PAOK Salonika, and also needed to overturn a goal difference deficit to the Russians of five.

However, Rubin recovered from having goalkeeper Sergei Ryzhikov sent off for giving away an early penalty which Vieirinha converted, and equalised through Paraguay striker Nelson Valdez just after the break.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has not hidden his lack of interest in this competition this season, and he sent out a second-string team backed up by just three outfield players on the bench.

However, he was disappointed not to progress after the efforts his team put in in Dublin.

"I thought when Rubin Kazan went down to 10 men that we might have a good chance and four goals would be enough," he told ITV4.

"But it was a good experience for some of the younger players in our squad and they will probably go out on loan in January now."

Tottenham, Birmingham and Celtic join Fulham in exiting Europe after the Cottagers were knocked out having squandered a two-goal lead to draw at home to Denmark's Odense on Wednesday.

Stoke City will however be in Friday's knockout stage draw along with Champions League dropouts Manchester United and Manchester City.

Most of the other qualification slots had already been decided before the final round of matches, while a 1-1 draw for Dutch club AZ Alkmaar at home to Metalist Kharkiv was enough to take them through from Group G with the Ukrainian side.

AFP

Tags: uefa-cup, soccer, sport, england, united-kingdom

First posted December 16, 2011 11:29:53

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Fulham knocked out of Europa

Updated December 15, 2011 12:03:23

Fulham was knocked out of the Europa League this morning (AEDT) as a last-minute goal from Djiby Fall secured a 2-2 draw for Odense, denying the 2010 finalists the win it needed to guarantee qualification for the round of 32.

Clint Dempsey and teenager Kerim Frei put Fulham 2-0 up but Hans Henrik Andreasen pulled a goal back midway through the second half and then much-travelled Senegalese forward Fall headed home for the Danish side with the last touch of the game.

Socceroos 'keeper Mark Schwarzer was unable to help his side as a neck injury suffered at the weekend is likely to keep him out until February.

Wisla Krakow pipped Fulham to second place in Group K courtesy of a 2-1 win over already-qualified Twente Enschede. Wisla finished with nine points, one more than Martin Jol's side.

The other Premier League side in action, Stoke City, saw its unbeaten run end to Besiktas which finished top of Group E after a 3-1 victory.

The Turkish side accumulated 12 points, one more than Stoke and five more than Dynamo Kiev which squandered a two-goal lead and finished with nine men in a 3-3 draw at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Elsewhere, David Beckham suitors Paris St Germain went out of the Europa League despite a 4-2 win over Athletic Bilbao losing its place to fellow big spenders Salzburg which fought back to win 3-2 at Slovan Bratislava.

Athletic finished Group F on 13 points, Salzburg and PSG had ten-apiece but the Austrian side go through due to a superior head-to-head record.

PSG, backed by Qatari investors, spent over 80 million euros ($107.76 million) on new players before the start of the season and its elimination is a setback for coach Antoine Kombouare after he appeared to have got back on track domestically.

Italian giants Lazio and former European champions Steaua Bucharest also qualified for Friday's draw for the knockout stages which will include Manchester United after their Champions League elimination last week.

Two goals in the last 20 minutes from Stefan Nikolic gave Steaua, European Cup winners in 1986, a 3-1 win over AEK Larnaca which secured them second place in Group J behind Schalke 04, whose 3-0 win at Maccabi Haifa ended the Israeli team's chances.

Libor Kozak and Giuseppe Sculli scored in each half to give Lazio a 2-0 win over Group D winners Sporting and a second-placed finish behind the Portuguese outfit.

Vaslui, which needed to equal Lazio's result to qualify on its head-to-head record against the Italians, blew its chance by losing 2-0 at previously winless FC Zurich.

Reuters

Tags: uefa-cup, soccer, sport, england, united-kingdom

First posted December 15, 2011 11:52:17

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British trio on Europa life support after defeats

Updated December 01, 2011 09:44:20

Scottish giants Celtic and English sides Spurs and Birmingham City were left needing to win their final Europa League group matches if they are to have a chance of reaching the knockout stages after losing their penultimate group matches on Wednesday.

Spurs were surprisingly beaten 2-1 at home by PAOK Salonika - who qualified for the knock-out rounds thanks to the win - after conceding two early goals and were unable to take advantage of playing all of the second-half against 10 men.

Celtic lost 1-0 at home to Spanish giants Atletico Madrid - who ensured they progressed - while Championship outfit Birmingham City went down by the same margin away at last season's surprise finalists Portuguese side Braga.

Celtic, though, will need to pull off a win away at Italian side Udinese - who are three points ahead of them after drawing 0-0 with bottom side Rennes.

Birmingham must beat already eliminated Maribor and hope there is a winner from the Braga and Club Brugge match as both are three points ahead of the English League Cup holders.

Spurs will feel hard done by as they had what they thought a perfectly good goal from Jermaine Defoe ruled out after initially being given but they were their own worst enemies as they failed to put away any of their chances in the second-half.

Croatian star Luka Modric's first-half penalty had got them back into the match after Kostas Stafylidis was sent off somewhat harshly for handling on the line.

The Greek side had stormed into a 2-0 lead through a Dimitris Salpingidis header and a Stefanos Athanasiadis tap-in after 13 minutes.

For Spurs to qualify, they need to beat pointless Irish side Shamrock Rovers and hope Russian outfit Rubin Kazan drops points against PAOK.

Celtic should have been 1-0 down after six minutes as Argentinian Eduardo Salvio was picked out unmarked in the box but his header lacked the accuracy reflected in his return of just one goal this season.

Celtic had its chances with veteran Greek striker Giorgios Samaras having the best one but his sidefooted volley from close range went straight at the 'keeper.

While Salvio missed another gilt-edged chance Atletico did eventually break the deadlock in the 30th minute through the impressive Turkish international Arda Turan.

The former Galatasaray star rifled home a 25 yard effort after an Atletico corner had been headed clear but Celtic skipper Beram Kayal will take some of the blame as he ill advisedly ducked to let the shot fly over him and see it go in off 'keeper Fraser Forster's hands.

Things got worse for the former European Cup winners as left back Joe Ledley was stretchered off and was replaced by Charlie Mulgrew, who played despite his father dying last week.

Celtic pushed forward in the second-half as it had to do and thought it had grabbed an equaliser in the 66th minute through Gary Hooper but it was ruled out for handball by Anthony Stokes.

Birmingham should have been in front away to Sporting Braga at half-time but Serbian striker Nikola Zigic saw his penalty - awarded for a trip by Ewerton on Wade Elliott - saved by veteran 'keeper Quim.

The English side paid for missing the penalty and wasting several other chances as the hosts took the lead early in the second-half as former Newcastle flop Hugo Viana let fly from 25 yards and his shot gave Birmingham 'keeper Boaz Myhill no chance as it took a huge deflection.

The Portuguese side had the upper hand from that moment on but like its opponents in the first-half could not put its chances away, the best of them coming shortly before the final whistle as Myhill blocked Lima's shot and then Paulo Cesar made a mess of his effort from the rebound.

AFP

Tags: uefa-cup, soccer, sport, england, scotland, united-kingdom, spain, portugal, greece

First posted December 01, 2011 09:41:12

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Fulham given Europa League berth

Posted May 27, 2011 10:03:00

Fulham will play in the Europa League next season after being awarded a place under the Premier League's Fair Play League.

England received an additional Europa League place for next season after finishing second in UEFA's national fair-play table.

Chelsea finished top of the Fair Play League but had already qualified for the Champions League and Fulham was in second spot.

Mark Hughes' side had just one player sent off in league matches all season - that happened in the very last game leading to suggestions that relegated Blackpool could pip them to the spot.

The Premier League said in a statement: "Fulham FC has finished the season as the highest placed club in the 2010/11 Fair Play League that has not already qualified for UEFA competitions via the 2010/11 Barclays Premier League.

"The club will take the additional European place awarded to England and compete in next season's UEFA Europa League."

- AFP

Tags: sport, football, english-premier-league, uefa-cup, united-kingdom, england

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Porto wins Europa League

Updated May 19, 2011 07:02:00

Porto deservedly beat Braga 1-0 in the Europa League final after a superb header by Colombian striker Falcao decided the first all-Portuguese final of a European competition at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Falcao swooped for his 17th goal of the competition just before half-time, timing his run to perfection to meet compatriot Fredy Guarin's precise cross and brilliantly direct a header past Braga keeper Artur.

Braga, the competition's surprise package which knocked out former European champions Liverpool and Benfica, should have equalised when Mossoro went clean through seconds after half-time, only to shoot straight at the goalkeeper.

However, it did not have enough attacking guile to stop Porto boss Andre Villas Boas emulating the club's greatest coach Jose Mourinho by winning this competition and the domestic league in his first season in charge.

He also became the youngest coach to win a European trophy.

Porto, which cruised to the Portuguese title undefeated and reached the final by knocking out the likes of Spain's Sevilla and Villarreal, started the more dangerous but was kept at bay for much of a mostly tedious first half.

Its opponents, playing in their first European final, created the first chance when midfielder Custodio fired a half volley wide of Porto captain Helton's goal on four minutes.

Last chance

The Portuguese champions went close minutes later when burly Brazilian forward Hulk cut in from the wing and zig-zagged past two defenders before flashing what would become the last clear cut chance for over half an hour across the Braga goal.

Hulk continued to prove a menace and was forcibly stopped in his tracks twice at the cost of two yellow cards in quick succession, first by Braga midfielder Hugo Viana and then more cynically by Portugal team-mate Silvio.

However, it was his strike partner Falcao who broke the deadlock a minute before the break, handing the game the jolt it needed with his 38th goal of the season and his team's 137th.

The goal meant the prolific striker, who scored five goals in the semi-final against Villarreal, took his record-breaking tally for a single European competition further past the previous mark held by Juergen Klinsmann.

It also succeeded in shaking the game briefly into life and Braga would have been level had substitute Mossoro, who seized on some lax Porto defending with virtually his first touch, fired either side of Helton when put clear on goal.

As the pace of the game picked up, so did the frequency of yellow cards with three more brandished, underlying the rivalry between two teams based a mere 50 kilometres apart.

Braga kept searching for an equaliser but lacked any cutting edge in front of goal, a criticism throughout a gritty campaign in which it scored just three goals in four quarter-final and semi-final matches compared to Porto's 18.

That was as close as Domingos Paciencia's stubborn side came, allowing their more illustrious opponents to add a second Europa title to a trophy room that also includes two European Cups, a European Supercup and two world club titles.

Porto, which lifted the same trophy when the competition was known as the UEFA Cup in 2003, also remains on course for a quadruple haul of trophies this season.

-Reuters

Tags: sport, football, uefa-cup, portugal

First posted May 19, 2011 06:45:00

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Portugese trio reach Europa semis

Posted April 15, 2011 08:12:00

Portuguese trio Porto, Benfica and Braga reached the Europa League semi-finals in contrasting styles as Europe's second-string club competition produced another goal feast.

Porto completed its demolition of Spartak Moscow by following up last week's 5-1 in Lisbon with a 5-2 victory in Moscow in their quarter-final second leg to complete a 10-3 aggregate romp.

Benfica went through with an impressive fight-back at PSV Eindhoven, where it went 2-0 down in 25 minutes but hit back to draw 2-2 and reach its first European semi-final for 17 years 6-3 on aggregate.

In complete contrast, Braga, Liverpool's conquerer in the last 16, went through with a goalless draw at home to Dynamo Kiev, qualifying on away goals after its 1-1 draw in the Ukraine.

Braga held on despite having Paulo Cesar sent off before the half hour.

Spain's Villarreal will be the odd one out after coming from behind to win 3-1 away to Twente Enschede for an emphatic 8-2 aggregate win.

A final between former European champions Porto and Benfica is on the cards with Porto facing Villarreal in their semi-final and Benfica meeting Braga.

Striker Radamel Falcao took his Europa League tally to 11 goals this season as he was among the scorers on a chilly Moscow evening for the recently-crowned Portuguese champion.

-Reuters

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