Two upsets in the Italian cup.
43 Torino - Roma 3:1 36 AC Milan - Catania 1:2
UEFA Cup, Group phase, Final Match
Group A of AZ
AZ Alkmaar - Everton 2:3
Larissa - Nurnburg 1:3
Idle: Zenit St Petersburg
EVE 12 NUR 7 ZSP 5 AZA 4 LAR 0
Group B of Mutton
Atlético Madrid - Panathanaikos 1:1
Aberdeen - Køvehaben 4:0 (31)
Idle: Lokomotiv Moscow
PAN 10 AMD 8 ABD 4 COP 3 LOK 2
Group C of Seeding
AEK Athens - Villarreal 1:2
Fiorentina - Mlada Boleslav 2:1
Idle: IF Elfsborg
VIL 10 FIO 8 AEK 5 BLV 3 ELF 1
Group D of Dwarves
Hamburg - Basle 1:1
Rennes - Dinamo Zagreb 1:1
Idle: Brann
HAM 10 BAS 8 BRN 4 DZA 2 REN 2
The big surprise comes in A, where regular quarter-finalists AZ are AOUT, after a terrific tussle with Everton. Panathanaikos and Atlético fought out a tepid draw, while Aberdeen was biffing up the Danish champions and progressing to the last 32. No surprises form group C, but Brann will perhaps be the team to draw for one of the lucky group champions.
Group E of Goal Difference
FC Zürich - Bayer Leverkusen 0:5
Toulouse - Spartak Moscow 2:1 (34)
Idle: Sparta Prague
BYL 9 SPM 7 ZUR 6 PRG 4 TOU 3
Group F of Bayern
Braga - Crvena Zvedza 2:0
Bayern München - Aris Thessaloniki 6:0
Idle: Bolton
BAY 8 BRG 6 (+2) BOL 6 (+1) ASS 5 CRZ 0
Group G of Winners
Getafe - Anderlecht 2:1
Hapoel Tel Aviv - AaB Alborg 1:3
Idle: Tottenham
GET 8 TOT 7 AND 5 AAL 4 HTA 3
Group H of Upsets
Panionios - Bordeaux 2:3
Galatasaray - Austia Wien 0:0
Idle: Helsingborgs
BDX 12 HEL 7 GAL 4 (+1) PIO 4 (-3) AWI 1
So, Bayer and Bayern both pull off huge wins on the last day to top their groups. Aris is unlucky to go out with just the one defeat while Galatasaray progresses after two defeats, albeit on goal difference. Toulouse's victory is their first in eight European games this year; dumped out of the European League by Liverpool, and only progressing this far on away goals.
Bring out the draw straws!
UEFA Cup, First Round Proper and Achtelfinalrund
Anderlecht Bordeaux ---------- Bayern Aberdeen ========== Rangers Panath'kos ---------- Werder B Braga ========== Bolton A. Madrid ---------- Sporting L Basle ========== Galatasary B Leverkus ---------- Zürich Hamburg ========== AEK Athens Getafe ---------- Benfica Nürnburg ========== Rosenborg Fiorentina ---------- Brann Everton ========== Slavia Pr Tottenham ---------- PSV Helsingbgs ========== Marseille Spartak M ---------- Zenit St P Villarreal
Bayern should get through the top section. Three grand matches in the second, while we can't see much opposition for Atlético. Leverkusen and Hamburg are on a collision course, and we're looking forward to AEK-Benfica | Nürnburg. Everton's run of easy draws continues for another round, and Spurs - PSV should be fab. Any of the four sides in the bottom section could progress.
European League, Achtelfinalrund
Celtic Barcelona ---------- Lyon Manch B ---------- Schalke Porto ---------- Liverpool Inter M ---------- Roma Real Mad ---------- Arsenal AC Milan ---------- Olympiakos CSKA Kens ---------- Fenerbahçe Sevilla
Manchester B, Barcelona, Inter, and Sevilla are the four sides currently seeded for the quarter-finals; by our arithmetic, there's no way the Buccaneers can qualify and not be seeded.
