European League, Achtelfinalrund
Celtic 2 Barcelona 3 ---------- Lyon 1 Manch B 1 ---------- Schalke 1 [32] Porto 0 ---------- Liverpool 2 [43] Inter M 0 ---------- Roma 2 Real Mad 1 ---------- Arsenal 0 AC Milan 0 ---------- Olympiakos 0 CSKA Kens 0 ---------- Fenerbahce 3 [36] Sevilla 2
Top to bottom: Barcelona twice came from behind to defeat Celtic, but the return should be a formality. Lyon also look to have had the better leg, but it won't get them very far. Schalke's win is a surprise, but Liverpool's is the big upset of the round, setting up the interesting prospect of Barnsley -v- Inter Milan next season. Many commentators were surprised that Roma beat Real, but Glickoblog only showed this as a 29-point upset; Roma's rise has rather been overshadowed by Inter's runaway success. Not sure who has the better of the matches involving the London sides, but while Seville's defeat is unexpected, it may not be fatal.
UEFA Cup, First Round Proper, Ruckfarrund
Anderlecht 2:1 Bordeaux 1:1 Anderlecht ---------- Aberdeen 2:1 Bayern M Bayern M 2:5 ========================= Rangers 0:1 Panath'kos 0:1 Rangers ---------- Werder B 3:1 Werder B Braga 0:0 ========================= Bolton 1:0 A. Madrid 0:0 Bolton ---------- Sporting L 2:3 Sporting L Basle 0:0 ========================= Galatasary 0:1 B Leverkus 0:5 B Leverkus ---------- Zurich 1:0 Hamburg Hamburg 3:0 [-18] ========================= AEK Athens 1:0 Getafe 1:3 Getafe ---------- Benfica 1:2 Benfica Nurnburg 0:2 ========================= Rosenborg 0:1 Fiorentina 1:2 Fiorentina ---------- Brann 0:1 Everton Everton 2:6 ========================= Slavia Pr 1:1 Tottenham 2:1 Tottenham ---------- PSV 2:2 PSV Helsingbgs 0:1 ========================= Marseille 3:0 [-35] Spartak M 0:2 Marseille ---------- Zenit St P 1:1 Zenit St P Villarreal 0:2
Again, the edges of the draw throw up surprises: Anderlecht and Zenit convert their upset wins last week into two-legged victories this, joined by Bolton's remarkable victory over Atlético; they stand a chance against Sporting Lisbon, though not a good one. Rangers have a narrow win against a side ranked just slightly above them. Benfica left it late, both of their goals coming in second-half injury time - the first was sufficient to clinch qualification. As we thought, Galatasaray's 0:0 draw last week was as good as it got; Zürich and Spartak Moscow bow out of the tournament with rich parting shots. Everton set up their expected match against Fiorentina, while Tottenham will play PSV in what must be the tie of the next round.
Highlight of the week-end is Bayern München -v- Hamburg (Set2, 4pm Sunday), a match that Hamburg needs to win to remain in contention for the title. Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04 clash on Saturday (tape: Set2, 6.30 Saturday). In Italy, Roma host Fiorentina, both sides are in European League contention. Everton play Manchester City (Set1, 8pm Monday) in a battle of European places, while Tottenham or Chelsea will book their ticket to the UEFA Cup courtesy of the League Cup final (Radio 5 from 3pm Sunday; highlights ITV, 11.15 Sunday)
