The end appears nigh for Gretna, placed into administration, docked ten of their 16 points, and having difficulty raising a team to play Aberdeen on Saturday. It's clear that the side has risen too far too quickly, and perhaps a spell in Division B would have helped them consolidate. As it is, we rather fear that we'll have to class the side alongside the Colne Dynamos who rose through the Northern Leagues in the late 1980s, only to fold in 1990 when on the verge of promotion to Division V.
Arsenal 0:2 AC Milan 0:0 Arsenal ----------------- Liverpool 2:1 Liverpool Inter M 0:0 [34] -------------------------- Fenerbahce 3:2 [b] Sevilla 2:3 Fenerbahce ----------------- Olympiakos 0:0 CSKA Kens CSKA Kens 0:3 ========================== Schalke 1:0 [a] Porto 0:1 Schalke ----------------- Celtic 2:0 Barcelona Barcelona 3:1 -------------------------- Roma 2:2 Real Mad 1:1 Roma ----------------- Lyon 1:0 ManchB Manch B 1:1
[a] - 0:0 in extra time, Schalke 04 won 4:1 in kicks from the penalty mark.
[b] - 0:0 in extra time, Fenerbahçe won 3:2 in kicks from the penalty mark.
In spite of the protestations that they wouldn't seed the quarter-finals, the four seeded sides - Barcelona, the Buccaneers, CSKA Kensington, and Arsenal - have been kept apart. The draw throws up an all-English quarter-final - with the sides meeting in the league between the two legs - and quite possibly an all-London semi-final. The alternative is yet another installment in the Stadiennes - CSKA saga, for the fourth time in as many competitions. Of the quarter-finals, only Roma and the Buccaneers have previously met in Europe, and this will be the sides' third encounter in a year.
UEFA Cup, Achtelfinalrund
Anderlecht 2:1 Bordeaux 1:1 Anderlecht 0:2 [44] ---------- Aberdeen 2:1 Bayern M 5:1 Bayern M 2:5 Bayern M ================================ AEK Athens 1:0 Getafe Getafe 1:3 Getafe 1:1 ---------- Benfica 1:2 Benfica 0:0 Nurnburg 0:2 =============================-------------- Galatasary 0:1 B Leverkus 0:5 B Leverkus 1:2 ---------- Zurich 1:0 Hamburg 0:3 Hamburg 3:0 B Leverkus ================================ Marseille 3:0 Zenit St P Spartak M 0:2 Marseille 3:0 ---------- Zenit St P 1:1 Zenit St P 1:2 [35] Villarreal 0:2 =========================================== Rangers 0:1 Panath'kos 0:1 Rangers 2:0 ---------- Werder B 3:1 Werder B 0:1 Braga 0:0 Rangers ================================ Bolton 1:0 Sporting L A. Madrid 0:0 Bolton 1:0 ---------- Sporting L 2:3 Sporting L 1:1 Basle 0:0 =============================-------------- Rosenborg 0:1 Fiorentina 1:2 Fiorentina 2:0 ---------- Brann 0:1 Everton 0:2 [a] Everton 2:6 Fiorentina ================================ Slavia Pr 1:1 PSV Tottenham 2:1 Tottenham 0:1 [33] ---------- PSV 2:2 PSV 1:0 [b] Helsingbgs 0:1
[a] 0:0 in extra time; Fiorentina won 4:2 in kicks from the penalty mark.
[b] 0:0 in extra time; PSV won 6:5 in kicks from the penalty mark.
History? Rangers and Sporting met in the second round of the Cup-Winners' Cup in 1972, Rangers winning on away goals after a 6:6 draw. What would ITV give for another one of those! None of the other quarter-final ties has ever appeared before.
Highlights of the coming week-end include a potential title-decider in Russia, Zenit St Petersburg -v- Spartak Moscow; relegation clash in France - St-Ettienne -v- Toulouse - and in Italy, Livorno -v- Parma. There's Werder Bremen -v- Wolfsburg in Germany (SET2, 10pm Sunday); and Getafe -v- Santander. Two sides could change their division in Scotland; in addition to Gretna's heartbreaking spiral down back to Division VIII (NW), East Fife can clinch the Division D title with a win at East Stirling. Though the home side has improved from its woeful performance a few years back, it's still rock bottom of the Scottish League. There's also the little matter of the Scottish League Cup to decide, Dundee Utd and Rangers. Another match for the Ibrox fixture pile-up! Nowt much in England, Watford - Stoke is more interesting than anything in the top flight.
