The return leg of Hannover 96 – Atletico Madrid was the match served up for live, US television. The Spanish club held a slim, 2-1 lead from the first leg, as they sought to claim a place in the last four for the second time in three seasons, while Hannover came into the match without having lost a home match this season.

Both sides started with attacking conviction, but despite the willingness to go forward, and the counter attack opportunities afforded, there was no threat to either keeper in the early stages.

By the twenty minute mark, the match had settled into a lull. Atletico, holding the aggregate lead, had no need to risk anything in search of another goal, while Hannover, it has to be said, didn’t look especially convincing with the onus on them to produce a goal.

Hannover actually seemed to get worse as the half wore on, degenerating from cagey to outright sloppiness. Atletico were content to soak up Hannover’s attacks, if you could even call them that, as the stupor inducing first half came to a conclusion.

The second half, unfortunately, continued the pattern established in the first half. By the hour mark, a harmless header from a corner kick that fell harmlessly into the arms of Atletico keeper Thibaut Courtois was the only danger that Hannover could muster.

The match was finally broken open by Atletico Madrid in the 63rd minute. Adrian Lopez latched onto a ball sent over the top of the Hannover defense, and in close quarters maneuvered his way across the box past Emanuel Pogatetz, Christian Pander, and the flailing goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler before calmly sliding the ball home to give Atletico an ironclad advantage in the tie.

With time dwindling away, Hannover finally demonstrated a sense of urgency that had been lacking for so much of this match. Mame Biram Diouf was found in space inside the Atletico box, and he shot low past Courtois to bring Hannover back within one goal.

Hannover’s hopes were short lived. The German side was forced to throw everything forward in search of the goal that would take the tie to extra time, leaving Atletico Madrid acres of space to make use of on the counter attack. A familiar face in the Bundesliga, former Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg man Diego found an unmarked Falcao with a perfect chipped pass. The Colombian striker blasted the ball past a helpless Zieler to extinguish Hannover’s hopes for good.

Even the most generous observers would have to admit that AZ have been riding their luck throughout their journey through the knockout rounds, but there was no let off for the Eredivisie side tonight. As they did in the first leg, Valencia dominated the proceedings and piled the pressure on AZ. Goals from Pablo Hernandez, Jordi Alba and Adil Rami earned the hosts a decisive victory, and a place in the semi finals.

A late goal for Metalist Kharkiv in the first leg gave the Ukrainian side hope as they returned home for the second leg. Despite seizing control of the match from the outset, it was Sporting that scored first, as Ricky van Wolfswinkel struck a minute before halftime. Cristaldo struck back for Metalist in the second half, but a missed penalty by Metalist in the 64th minute that would have leveled the tie on aggregate proved decisive.

Athletic Bilbao won even more admirers after a storming victory over Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen in the first leg. They continued to impress, but Schalke, to their credit, did not go away quietly. The Bundesliga side took the lead after 29 minutes through Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who made the most of a misplaced pass, but Ibai Gomez struck back for Athletic with a stunning long distance strike shortly before halftime. Raul retook the lead for Schalke in the 52nd minute with a volley reminiscent of his goal in the first leg, but the advantage was short lived, as Markel Susaeta was played in down the right wing by Iker Munian, and Lars Unnerstall was beaten at the near post.

Valencia 4 – AZ Alkmaar 0 (AZ 2 – Valencia 5)
Athletic Bilbao 2 – Schalke 04 2 (Schalke 4 – Athletic Bilbao 6)
Metalist Kharkiv 1 – Sporting CP 1 (Sporting 3 – Metalist 2)
Hannover 96 1 – Atletico Madrid 2 (Atletico Madrid 4 – Hannover 2)

With only four matches on the schedule, there’s only room for one live broadcast, and today, the tantalizing match up between Schalke 04 and Athletic Bilbao was served up. Schalke have been enjoying a good season all around, but their resurgent form has seen them brush aside Twente in the round of 16, and move up to an automatic Champions League qualifying place in the Bundesliga. Athletic Bilbao, reformed under Marcelo Bielsa, have become the competition’s darlings, after deservedly, and in some style, knocking out Manchester United in the previous round.

Bilbao started off with attacking intent, and were assured in possession early on. Some early passing moves around the Schalke box ultimately ended up in the arms of Timo Hildebrand, but suggested more menace to come from the Basque side.

Bilbao remained on top, but the best chance of the early stages fell to Schalke after twelve minutes. Klaas Jan Huntelaar was played in but his low shot ended up dragging wide of the far post.

Huntelaar’s chance kicked off a period of increased pressure from Schalke, but the German side was quickly stung by a Bilbao counter attack. Oscar De Marcos crossed for Markel Susaeta, who hit a weak, first time effort at Hildebrand. The goalkeeper couldn’t hold on to the ball though, and he spilled it straight to Fernando Llorente, who tapped in one of the easier goals he’ll ever score.

There was almost literally no time for Athletic to enjoy their lead, as Schalke’s next foray down the field produced the equalizer. A low cross from Atsuto Uchida found Raul at the near post, and the former Real Madrid striker demonstrated how he became the Champions League all time leading scorer by redirecting past Gorka Iraizoz.

I wouldn’t exactly say the match had been dull before, as both teams had demonstrated some danger, but the exchange of goals really opened things up; the pace of the match increased as both sides sought to score the next goal.

Schalke nearly did take the lead after 32 minutes. Julian Draxler crossed for Raul, who was again waiting at the near post, from the left wing, but Raul did not strike the ball cleanly, and the ball ended up skidding across the face of goal, without another Schalke player in sight. Schalke continued to press; a corner kick moments later ended up pinballing its way around the Athletic box before Raul was whistled for a foul on Iraizoz.

Neither side sought to ease up as halftime approached, but despite trading attacks and counter attacks right up until the halftime whistle, the score remained level.

Schalke made the better start to the second half, and around ten minutes in had a couple of good chances to go in front. First a glancing header by Kyriakos Papadopoulos from a free kick went just wide. A volleyed attempt by Jefferson Farfan not long after that was palmed down and barely gotten under control by Iraizoz.
Schalke did take the lead with their next chance. At the 59 minute mark, Raul tried to squeeze a pass through the middle for Huntelaar, but the attempt was cut out by the Bilbao defense. The ball popped directly back into the path of Raul though, and he struck a first time volley from the edge of the area that Iraizoz had no chance of stopping.

Athletic had looked subdued for large parts of the second half, but woke up with about twenty minutes to play in the match. They had just started to get going again when they put the equalizer on the board. A corner kick found Llorente at the near post, and he powered past his markers to head past substitute keeper Mathias Schober at the near post.

The Basques were unfortunate not to retake the lead moments later. Iker Muniain played in Andoni Iraola, who took the ball around Schober, but had it tackled away by Papadopoulos before he could get a shot away at the unguarded net.

Schalke looked to be fading badly in the latter stages of the match, and Athletic Bilbao would go in front thanks to an exquisite counter attack. The rapid move caught Schalke upfield, and the Schalke players that did get back were flummoxed by a floating cross that found Susaeta on the right wing. He cut the ball back across the goalmouth, and Schober’s intervention only put the ball at the feet of Oscar de Marcos, who slid the ball past the desperate, sliding blocks of the Schalke defenders for the goal.

The two sides exchanged near misses in the 86th minute. First Borja Ekiza took control of a long pass and deftly controlled the ball over and around the Schalke defenders, but his attempt to slide the ball under Schober was denied. Schalke took the ball back up the field and nearly equalized when Huntelaar volleyed a bouncing ball, but he was kept out by the goalpost.

Schalke were determined to equalize, and Iraizoz was threatened on a couple of occasions, but with caution thrown to the wind, Bilbao was able to take a two goal advantage. The last goal was a simple matter of catching Schalke upfield again. Muniain was left to finish off the move, as he fired, uncontested, past Schober with the last kick of the game.

Overall, a highly entertaining match. After this performance, Athletic Bilbao might just have established themselves as favorites to hoist the trophy in May.

Valencia haven’t had a great time since their victory over PSV in the previous round of this competition, to point where Unai Emery’s job security has been speculated upon. They got no relief tonight, as AZ handed them their first ever defeat by a Dutch side. Despite dominating the match for long periods, Valencia suffered a 2-1 defeat thanks to AZ’s solid defending and opportunistic finishing.

Sporting were looking decidedly shaky when they held off Manchester City by the skin of their teeth last time out. They looked better tonight, taking a 2-0 lead against an attack minded Metalist Kharkiv side. The Portuguese did set themselves up for a nervy second leg again, after conceding a stoppage time penalty that provided a key away goal for the Ukrainian side.

Atletico Madrid and Hannover were pretty much even on the night, and looked to be heading for a 1-1 draw when Eduardo Salvio curled a match winner past Hannover goalkeeper Zieler with just one minute to play.

AZ Alkmaar 2 – Valencia 1
Schalke 04 2 – Athletic Bilbao 4
Sporting CP 2 – Metalist Kharkiv 1
Atletico Madrid 2 – Hannover 96 1

Manchester United’s visit to Athletic Bilbao was the first match on the slate for US television. To reiterate from last week, the Red Devils can count themselves extremely fortunate to have made the trip to the Basque country only trailing by a 3-2 scoreline. Of course, with Bilbao’s three away goals, United would need, a two goal victory to progress.

I have to admit that after Rooney’s stoppage time penalty last week, I was anxious that Manchester United would worm their way out of this one, but there was no need to worry. Again, Bilbao just dismantled the Premier League’s biggest name, with only profligate finishing to blame for the narrow margin of victory.

There was no cagey, early period in this match; both sides were ready to attack from the opening whistle. Both sides looked dangerous in their own way. Athletic’s passing and movement looked very assured, while Manchester United looked like counter attacking down the wings would pay off for them.

It was United that had the first real scoring chance of the game, after eight minutes. Ashley Young was released on the left side of the Bilbao box. His shot might well have been goal bound if Fernando Amorebieta did not intervene with a sliding block.

Bilbao’s first scoring chance was even more dangerous, and it was almost farcical that the Basques didn’t score. A neatly flicked pass from Fernando Llorente put Iker Muniain through on goal. Muniain easily beat David de Gea, but was thwarted by the post, the rebound fell to Oscar de Marcos, but his effort was somehow put over the wide open net.

By the twenty minute mark of the first half, Bilbao were dictating the pace of the match, as their possession and pressure became more sustained. They were rewarded in the 23rd minute. Though Bilbao had been using the tiki taka style to great effect throughout the tie, the opening breakthrough came from a long, diagonal pass over the top. Llorente was on the receiving end of the inch perfect pass from Jon Aurtenetxe, and he struck an immaculate first time volley that caught de Gea moving the wrong way. The beautiful strike would be Llorente’s last contribution to the match, as the striker, who was apparently not completely fit going into this match, was substituted for Gaizka Toquero.

The goal pushed Manchester United into asserting some pressure of their own. The United response had the Bilbao defense scrambling on a couple of occasions, but couldn’t quite find a way through. This continued for the rest of the half, but United still came away with nothing.

The second half started less frantically than the first, but when things picked up again, the match was back under Bilbao’s control. Andoni Iraola missed a chance to put Manchester United away for good in the 53rd minute, with a goal that surely would have been one of the highlights of the season. After receiving the ball near the edge of the United area, Iraola was able to skin three defenders in succession before putting his final effort wide of the post. Just to do justice to Iraola, when I say skin, I mean drag the ball away from them with the composure of a seasoned pro toying with overenthusiastic school children.

Manchester United looked pretty out of it by the hour mark, while Bilbao kept up the pressure. The Basques struck again in the 65th minute to finish off United for good. Iraola was the provider for this goal, as his cross was deflected, but calmly chested down by de Marcos, who made up for his first half miss by firing a rocket that glanced off of Rafael and past de Gea.

The misery continued for Manchester United. Athletic Bilbao continued pressing and attacking, leading to near misses for Markel Susaeta and the substitute Toquero.

Bilbao continued to dominate the proceedings, but Wayne Rooney struck back against the run of play in the 80th minute. The English striker found himself a bit of space on the edge of the Bilbao area, and unleashed a screamer to far post that easily beat Gorka Iraizoz.

Rooney’s goal proved to be a consolation, rather than the start of any valiant, last ditch effort, as Athletic Bilbao finished off the match in relative comfort to complete a thoroughly deserved victory over the English champions.

AZ were put on the back foot very early against Udinese. The Italian side, down 2-0 from the first leg grabbed a goal from the penalty spot in the third minute of the match. AZ were also reduced to ten men, as Nick Viergever was dismissed for the foul that conceded the penalty. Things looked worse for the Dutch league leaders after Antonio Di Natale wiped out their aggregate lead in the 15th minute with his second goal of the match. AZ salvaged things with a 31st minute goal from Erik Falkenburg. There was no response by the Serie A club this time, as AZ held off Udinese for the rest of the match, and passed up a chance to restore their two goal lead when Rasmus Elm missed a penalty.

Hannover grabbed an early goal against Standard Liege to break their tie open. A 21st minute own goal by Kanu put the Belgian side in real trouble. Didier Ya Konan would put the finishing touch on Hannover’s victory in the 73rd minute, when he beat Standard’s offside trap, and put the ball past Sinan Bolat at the second time of asking. The Bundesliga club would add another goal in stoppage time for good measure, as they finished off Standard Liege in impressive fashion.

Valencia allowed two late goals to PSV in the first leg, to give the Dutch side some scraps of hope to cling to. PSV started off well, and put some serious pressure on Valencia, but couldn’t make any of their chances count. Adil Rami struck for Valencia early in the second half of this one, to kill the tie off for good. PSV would equalize through Ola Toivonen in the 64th minute, but they were pretty much sunk by then.

The second match for US television was the return leg of Manchester City – Sporting Lisbon. The Portuguese side were more than a match for the monied pretenders to the Premier League crown, and came away with a narrow first leg victory. But if this week has proved anything, it’s that a narrow first leg victory by an underdog can be a tricky proposition to defend. There was some speculation about how seriously City would take this match, after a 1-0 to Swansea City last weekend knocked them off the top of the Premier League table and left them fuming. Roberto Mancini continued to insist that City were out to win the Europa League though.

Things were pretty even between the two sides from the outset. City posed their share of threats, but didn’t seem to have the final piece ready for any of their moves. Sporting generally looked dangerous coming forward, and had their moments, particularly an 8th minute header from Xandao that went just wide.

As the first half wore on, it was fair to say that the match started to settle in Sporting’s favor. Dangerous moves from City became few and far between, while Sporting’s counter attacks looked increasingly problematic. This showed up on the scoreboard in the 33rd minute. After a trademark bad foul from Mario Balotelli on Emiliano Insua, Sporting were awarded a free kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the City box. Matias Fernandez took the free kick and his curling, far post effort, was touched, but not kept out by Joe Hart.

There barely time for City to react before Sporting had doubled their advantage. City’s makeshift center back paring of Kolo Toure and Stefan Savic was breached by Marat Izmailov, who crossed for an unmarked Ricky Van Wolfswinkel to tap in at the back post.

City started the second half with more purpose than they had shown for most of the first. They finally got on the board at the sixty minute mark, when Sergio Aguero received a pass from Yaya Toure, and quickly turned and fired past Sporting keeper Rui Patricio.

Sporting looked a great deal less dangerous as the second half progressed, as they adopted a more defensive posture in order to hold on for the remaining half hour.

City weren’t making very much of Sporting’s passive resistance until the 75th minute, when they were awarded a fairly debatable penalty. Aguero was airborne before Renato Neto’s sliding challenge actually reached him, but the referee duly pointed to the spot, and Balotelli calmly faked out Rui Patricio to equalize.

Sporting looked like they were falling apart by the late stages of the match. Aguero put City ahead in the 82nd minute from a corner kick. The Argentine striker was left completely unmarked at the back post, and when the ball bounced through the crowd to him, dispatching the ball into the roof of the net was a simple matter.

A very nervy finish was on the cards, as Manchester City only needed one more goal to secure a place in the quarter finals. It was all hands on deck for Sporting, but Manchester City were still creating chances. A shockingly open Balotelli headed narrowly wide in the 87th minute.

City nearly booked their progress with an improbable finish. Goalkeeper Joe Hart, thrown forward for the last, desperate attack, was on the receiving end of a ball into the box, and the City keeper got a goalbound header away that was tipped narrowly wide by Rui Patrico. Hart’s header was the last act of the match, and Sporting held on by the slimmest of margins to advance to the quarterfinals.

Schalke turned in one of the more impressive performances of the night. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, the Bundesliga club looked like they were in trouble when they conceded first. They put on a dominant display for the rest of the match though. Three goals from Klaas Jan Huntelaar and one from Jermaine Jones, led Schalke past Twente and into the quarterfinals.

Olympiakos have a very imposing defensive record in recent times; at 2-0 up on aggregate with ten minutes to play, it looked like smooth sailing for the Greek giants. Metalist struck back with two goals in the final ten minutes of the match to win on away goals, and shock Olympiakos.

After a strong display in the second half by Besiktas last week, Atletico Madrid might have had reason to worry about the return leg in Turkey. The trip proved to be a routine victory for Atletico though. Goals from Falcao, Salvio and Adrian Lopez booked the 2010 winners a place in the quarter finals.

Olympiakos 1 – Metalist Kharkiv 2 (Metalist Kharkiv 2 – Olympiakos 2)
Manchester City 3 – Sporting CP 2 (Sporting CP 3 – Manchester City 3)
Schalke 04 4 - Twente 1 (Schalke 4 – Twente 2)
Hannover 96 4 – Standard Liege 0 (Standard Liege 2 – Hannover 6)
PSV 1 – Valencia 1 (Valencia 5 – PSV 3)
Udinese 2 – AZ Alkmaar 1 (AZ 3 – Udinese 2)
Besiktas 0 – Atletico Madrid 3 (Atletico Madrid 6 – Besiktas 1)
Athletic Bilbao 2 – Manchester United 1 (Manchester United 3 – Athletic Bilbao 5)

Atletico Madrid, as they often do, featured in the first live, US television match, against Besiktas. Atletico’s domestic form under Diego Simione has cooled slightly, but they put Lazio out in the previous round with no trouble. Besiktas advanced to the round of 16 after eliminating last season’s finalists, Braga.

Atletico started pressuring the Turkish side from the opening kick off. Besiktas were forced into two bad giveaways inside the opening minute, and were fortunate not to go behind in the third minute after Eduardo Salvio scampered through the Besiktas back line and cut back for Falcao, who put a low effort just wide of the post.

After the initial flurry, the match cooled off quite a bit. Atletico were, again, unfortunate not to take the lead though. A Besiktas free kick was comfortably cleared by the Spanish side, who immediately set up a promising counter attack. Adrian Lopez broke with Koke and Salvio, Lopez released Koke down the right side, and his perfect back post cross was absolutely butchered by Salvio, who mishit the ball over the goal entirely. The near miss led to another spell of pressure for Atletico Madrid. Salvio and Falcao combined again, and the Colombian’s ground level shot was turned away by goalkeeper Cenk Gonen.

Atletico finally took a deserved lead in the 24th minute. Salvio redeemed himself in some style, as he took a cross field pass around his marker, Veli Kavlak, with one deft touch, and shot underneath Gonen for 1-0.

Gonen was called into action again just one minute later. Atletico defender Filipe Luis nutmegged a defender and his shot was bending towards the far corner when Gonen reached out to deny the Brazilian.

There was nothing the Turkish goalkeeper could do moments later though. Koke played a diagonal through ball to Salvio, who might have actually been offside on the play. The flag stayed down though, and Salvio picked up his second goal in four minutes when he chipped past the helpless Gonen.

Adrian Lopez, who helped to set up the first goal, gave Atletico a commanding lead ten minutes before halftime. Besiktas were actually seeing a little bit of the ball, when a lazy pass across the middle of the pitch was intercepted by Lopez. He took off on a solo run, looking for a teammate to release, before deciding to keep the ball, drag it around the retreating Besiktas defenders, and fire over Gonen. The ball went off the underside of the crossbar on its way to the net.

Atletico capped off their 45 minutes of domination by seeing out the rest of the half comfortable in possession.

After having been so thoroughly outplayed in the first half, former Atletico Madrid man Simao got Besiktas back into the game in the 53rd minute. A blocked effort from teammate Egeman Korkmaz fell kindly for the Portuguese midfielder, and he struck an unstoppable, spinning shot that found the top right corner, leaving Thibaut Courtois no chance.

From a neutral perspective, the early Besiktas goal was the best thing that could have happened to the match, as it ensured a competitive second half, which was altogether scrappier than the first. Besiktas were definitely able to assert themselves more effectively, but were lacking when it came to the final product. After Simao’s strike, Courtois was not tested again in any meaningful way.

Atletico nearly restored their three goal lead with five minutes to play. Gonen collected a routine back pass, but Falcao stepped in front of the goalkeeper’s clearance attempt. The ball ricocheted off the Colombian’s back towards the goal, but it was close enough for Gonen to gather in again.

The close call might have served as a warning beacon to Besiktas, because their next attack finally threatened Courtois. Tomas Sivok was played in by Ismail Koybasi, and the Belgian keeper did well to knock the close range effort away. The Sivok effort was the last meaningful action of the match, as Atletico held off the Turkish side the rest of the way.

Overall, Atletico’s win was well deserved, but they looked unsettled enough by an improved second half, Besiktas display to suggest that the return leg in Turkey will still a be a test for them.

In the other early matches Olympiakos scored the only goal in Kharkiv, as they held off Metalist. A Luuk de Jong penalty was all that separated Twente and Schalke. Joel Matip was also sent off for the foul that gave away the penalty, forcing Schalke to play the last half hour of the match with ten men.

Manchester City were already heavy favorites over Sporting, and their demolition of title holders Porto in the previous round only added to expectations. It was the Portuguese side that came away with a surprising but deserved win though. Joe Hart spilled a free kick, which fell to Sporting defender Xandao. Though he was facing away from the goal at the time, he back heeled past Hart for the match’s only goal.

The second US television match was Udinese’s trip to Alkmaar to take on AZ. The Eredivisie leaders arrived in the round of 16 after upsetting Anderlecht. Despite heavy pressure from the Belgian side over both legs, AZ were able to hold them off, and score on the break. Udinese picked up an impressive and decisive away win at PAOK after drawing with the Greek club in the first leg.

Udinese fired the opening salvo of the match. Kwadwo Asamoah skirted the edge of the AZ box after receiving the ball from a corner kick, and his low shot to the right of Estaban Alvarado, the AZ keeper, was just wide of the post.

AZ responded in the 7th minute, with a long strike by Rasmus Elm. The Swede’s shot had decent enough movement on it, but was close enough for Udinese keeper Samir Handanovic to parry away comfortably.

As the first half wore on, AZ generally had the better of the proceedings. Despite controlling much of the possession, and spending significant amounts of time passing the ball around the edge of the Udinese box, the Serie A side’s defending in the final third of the pitch was solid enough to keep the Dutch side at bay.

Though AZ continued to control the first half, they were nearly caught out by a couple of sucker punches as halftime approached. First, a free kick from Pablo Armero was parried straight up into the air by Alvarado, who reacted late and had to tip the ball over the bar. A header from the ensuing corner nearly found its way past the diving goalkeeper, who eventually kept the ball out with his trailing leg.

The second half continued in the same largely uneventful vein as the first, until AZ took a long overdue lead in the 62nd minute. AZ won possession in midfield and worked their way down the right wing before Jozy Altidore was set free out wide by Maarten Martens. Altidore whipped in a cross that Martens was on hand to divert past Handanovic.

Even after conceding, Udinese seemed to prefer taking a 1-0 deficit back to Italy than pressing for an equalizer. They would pay for this approach, as AZ struck again just a few minutes from full time. Jozy Altidore was the provider again, as his cross from the right wing was deflected into the path of the onrushing Erik Falkenburg, who slid the ball into the net from close range. Falkenburg was unlucky not to add a second goal to his tally in the 89th minute. Simon Poulsen crossed, and Falkenburg’s volleyed effort off the turf was seemingly headed for the top corner, before Handanovic intervened to keep the scoreline at 2-0.

AZ kept attacking until the final whistle, and had one more chance to put Udinese in a very compromising position for the return leg. Jozy Altidore was the recipient of a cross from the right side on this occasion, but his header bounced straight to Handanovic. All in all, a deserved win for AZ, who will have a two goal advantage to defend in the second leg.

Manchester United have really been riding their luck lately. First, in the previous Europa League tie, they turned what should have been a cruise home against Ajax into a 2-1 defeat and a narrow escape on aggregate. A league match against Tottenham Hotspur saw them run out 3-1 winners despite being outplayed by the north London side. Their lucky streak lived on against Athletic Bilbao. Though the Basques won 3-2, and were comprehensively the better side, with only David De Gea’s shot stopping keeping the score close for United, a stoppage time penalty allowed Wayne Rooney to score his second goal of the night, and leave the English Champions in a slightly better position ahead of the second leg.

In the other late matches, Valencia went from the most comprehensive win of the day to a slightly less comfortable trip to Eindhoven for the return leg. Up by two goals within fifteen minutes, they piled the misery on PSV, who lost 6-2 to Twente last weekend, with a 4-2 victory. Valencia were firmly in charge at 4-0, but two late goals from PSV gave the Dutch side a lifeline in the tie. Standard Liege and Hannover, who already met in the group stages this season, played out an entertaining draw in Liege. An end to end encounter saw both sides take the lead at some point, but Mame Biram Diouf’s 56th minute goal that leveled things at 2-2 was the end of the scoring.

Metalist Kharkiv 0 – Olympiakos 1
Sporting CP 1 – Manchester City 0
Twente 1 – Schalke 04 0
Standard Liege 2 – Hannover 96 2
Valencia 4 – PSV 2
AZ Alkmaar 2 – Udinese 0
Atletico Madrid 3 – Besiktas 1
Manchester United 2 – Athletic Bilbao 3

The first US televised match was the return leg of Athletic Bilbao – Lokomotiv Moscow. The Basque side were looking to overturn a 2-1 first leg defeat.

Both teams were up for it immediately, as the match started off with tackles flying in from both sides, and quite a few speculative attempts at goal.

As the first half progressed, the play remained aggressive, with a liberal helping of physicality, that the match officials were happy to allow, from both sides. Bilbao started to get the upper hand in terms of possession, but both goalkeepers remained untroubled.

In the latter stages of the first half, Bilbao started to put together some coherent attacking moves, but nothing that seriously challenged the massed defensive ranks of Lokomotiv, who saw out a scoreless first half.

Bilbao came out attacking in the second half, and came close to taking the lead with their first real chance of the game in the 51st minute. A corner found its way to Fernando Llorente’s head, but his effort flashed narrowly wide of the goal. Llorente threatened again from the air just two minutes later. This time his headed effort was grabbed out of the air by Lokomotiv keeper Guilherme.

The pair of close calls promted Lokomotiv to adopt an even tighter defensive posture, and rely on counterattacks. This strategy paid some dividends around the hour mark, when Bilbao defender Fernando Amorebieta was caught off guard during a Lokomotiv counterattack. The Venezuelan defender was forced to cynically drag down his man, and received his second yellow card of the game.

Any advantage Lokomotiv would gain from having an extra man was short lived, as ten man Bilbao broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute. A corner kick was headed on to the back post by Llorente, where an unmarked Iker Muniain came streaking in to finish.
The Athletic goal obviously prompted a role reversal in the match. Lokomotiv brought on more attacking players, while Bilbao set out to defend the 1-0 scoreline. Lokomotiv tested Bilbao keeper Gorka Iraizoz in the 71st minute. Dmitri Sychev worked his way free inside the Athletic box and his deflected effort fell for Denis Glushakov on the edge of the area. Glushakov’s low effort was covered in time by Iraizoz.

With Lokomotiv needing a goal to advance, and Bilbao down a man, the final minutes of the match were not nearly as tense as they should have been. Lokomotiv’s best chance came during stoppage time, when Victor Obinna was dispossessed and the ball found its way to the feet of Manuel da Costa. His shot was hastily taken, and it went well wide without troubling Iraizoz, as Bilbao moved on to earn a last 16 tie with Manchester United.

Having failed to defeat Valencia on one of the mythical cold, wet nights at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke apparently decided to pack it in for the second leg. Most of Stoke’s usual first eleven was absent, as Valencia again needed just a single goal, courtesy of Jonas, to get the win, and end the Potters’ European campaign.

The Udinese – PAOK first leg was a cagey, goalless draw between two accomplished defensive sides. The second leg was all Udinese though. The Serie A side was up by two goals within fifteen minutes, and a second half penalty was the final nail in the coffin for PAOK.

Elsewhere in the early group of matches, clubs with a first leg advantage came through without any trouble. Hannover 96, who grabbed two late goals to defeat Club Brugge in the first leg, deflated the Belgian club with an early away goal. Trabzonspor were dispatched 4-1 by PSV. Twente ended Steaua Bucharest’s hopes of a home final (admittedly, you would probably have to be the most optimistic Steaua fan on Earth to have harbored any realistic hopes of that.) A goalless draw against ten man Wisla Krakow was good enough for Standard Liege to progress on away goals.

Ajax’s trip to Old Trafford was the second live match for US television. Ajax would have some work to do if they had any hope of progressing. Two second half goals from Ashley Young and Jaiver Hernandez in Amsterdam gave Manchester United a considerable advantage going into the second leg.

United nearly put the tie to bed in the first minute of the match. A low bullet of a shot from Nani was fought off by Ajax keeper Kenneth Vermeer, and fortunately for him, there were no red clad players in the immediate vicinity to convert the rebound. Manchester United didn’t have to wait much longer though. Hernandez was picked out with a long pass, and shook off Toby Alderweireld before firing low past Vermeer.

Manchester United were denied a chance to extend their lead in the 15th minute. Another long pass freed Hernandez, but his attempt to square the ball was turned aside by the last ditch, sliding intervention of Jan Vertonghen.

Fortunately, for neutrals, despite the hopelessness of Ajax’s situation, the match remained fairly open and flowing. Ajax kept pushing forward, as they attempted to get a goal back. United, for their part, seemed determined to inflict as much pain upon Ajax as possible, as there were threats around the Ajax box right up until halftime.

Ajax did get a goal back in the 37th minute. After the ball ping-ponged around the Manchester United box, it fell for Aras Ozbiliz, whose effort deflected off Phil Jones and beat David De Gea low to the right.

Ajax buoyed by their late, first half strike came out quite aggressively in search of the two goals they needed in the second half. Only the reflexes of De Gea kept a near post Siem de Jong header out in the 57th minute.

As the second half progressed, Ajax continued to have the lion’s share of possession and kept up the pressure on Manchester United. It wasn’t until the 67th minute that Manchester United were able to string an extended sequence of passes together.

Ajax were forced to throw caution to the wind and leave gaps at the back as the match wound down. Nani nearly finished off the tie in the 72nd minute thanks to the space offered by one of these gaps. His shot from the edge of the area bounced off the top of the crossbar though.

Ajax reasserted themselves, and struck again through in the 87th minute, when Alderweireld headed a curling Ozbiliz free kick past De Gea, to set up a nervy conclusion to the match. There was to be no improbable comeback result for Ajax though, as they did not threaten the United goal again. Overall, Ajax were the better side on the night, inflicted a rare European defeat on Manchester United at Old Trafford, and finally showed themselves at their best, but all of this will probably come as scant consolation for the Dutch side.

Elsewhere, clubs with first leg advantages had good nights. Atletico Madrid, Olympiacos, and Sporting Lisbon came away with 1-0 wins against their respective opponents, Lazio, Rubin Kazan, and Legia Warsaw to complete aggregate victories. Besiktas suffered a 1-0 defeat to last season’s finalists Braga, but the 1-0 score was not enough for the Portuguese side, trailing 2-0 from the first leg, to go through.

Metalist Kharkiv completed the most decisive aggregate victory of the round, with a 4-1 home win over Red Bull Salzburg.

Anderlecht’s Europa League campaign, which looked so promising after the Belgian club came through the group stage with a 100 percent record, ended in massive disappointment against AZ. Despite putting the Dutch side under heavy pressure for long periods, Anderlecht was unable to find a way through, and a goal on the break for AZ was enough to send Anderlecht crashing out.

Only one tie this round required extra time. Schalke were 1-0 up on the night and 2-1 on aggregate with just two minutes to go in their match against Czech champions Viktoria Plzen, who had been playing with ten men since the 61st minute. A poor clearance ended up at the feet of Frantisek Rajtoral, who fired past Timo Hidlebrand to force extra time. The Bundesliga club dominated the extra period from the outset, but couldn’t convert their pressure into goals. Raul was especially hard done by when he hit the post in the 105th minute. Schalke finally broke through in the first minute of the second half of extra time. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar headed Chinedu Obasi’s cross past Marek Cech for his second goal of the night and third of the tie to send Schalke through. The Dutch striker would add another for good measure in the final minute of stoppage time.

Manchester City 4 – FC Porto 0* (FC Porto 1 – Manchester City 6)
Manchester United 1 – Ajax Amsterdam 2 (Ajax 2 – Manchester United 3)
Athletic Bilbao 1 – Lokomotiv Moscow 0 (Lokomotiv Moscow 2 – Athletic Bilbao 2)
Metalist Kharkiv 4 – Red Bull Salzburg 1 (Salzburg 1 – Metalist Kharkiv 8)
Valencia 1 – Stoke City 0 (Stoke City 0 – Valencia 2)
Olympiacos 1 – Rubin Kazan 0 (Rubin Kazan 0 – Olympiacos 2)
Anderlecht 0 – AZ Alkmaar 1 (AZ 2 – Anderlecht 0)
Atletico Madrid 1 – SS Lazio 0 (Lazio 1 – Atletico Madrid 4)
Twente 1 – Steaua Bucharest 0 (Steaua Bucharest 0 – Twente 2)
Schalke 04 3 – Viktoria Plzen 1 (aet) (Viktoria Plzen 2 – Schalke 4)
Standard Liege 0 – Wisla Krakow 0 (Wisla Krakow 1 – Standard Liege 1)
Besiktas 0 – Braga 1 (Braga 1 – Besiktas 2)
PAOK 0 – Udinese 3 (Udinese 3 – PAOK 0)
PSV Eindhoven 4 – Trabzonspor 1 (Trabzonspor 2 – PSV 6)
Club Brugge 0 – Hannover 96 1 (Hannover 3 – Club Brugge 1)
Sporting CP 1 – Legia Warsaw 0 (Legia Warsaw 2 - Sporting CP 3)

*Match Played Wednesday 22 February

It seems that Porto will attempt to leave their mark on this season’s Europa League by exiting in the most undignified manner possible. Porto’s embarrassment has nothing to do with what happened on the field. A side totally lacking the kind of fitness they possessed last season that allowed them to overwhelm opponents in the latter stages of matches was rather routinely brushed aside by a superior Manchester City team. It’s a bad defeat, but not the kind of thing that brings lasting shame. For that, you need to file a frivolous complaint against your opponents for making an uncomplimentary pun on your star striker’s name.

Thanks to Manchester United’s failure to progress from their Champions League group, there’s an increased focus on this competition, which is good news, because the knockout rounds have rarely failed to produce some really entertaining football.

The first live match of the day for the US television audience was, for some reason, Lazio – Atletico Madrid. If I may channel Gob Bluth for a moment, I have to say that Manchester United are playing Ajax in the biggest name match up this stage of the Europa League/UEFA Cup has seen for years, and the live game is a marquee match from 1996? Come on.

Atletico Madrid posed a threat almost immediately. A stray Lazio pass across the middle of the pitch was converted into a chance for Falcao, who blazed over the bar from inside the box. That miss would prove to be costly for the mattress makers. Even though Atletico spent the next twenty or so minutes dominating possession, Lazio scored with their first meaningful action of the match. A long range shot by Antonio Candreva dipped on Atletcio goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois who could only spill the ball into the path of experienced poacher Miroslav Klose, who simply does not let opportunities like that go to waste.

Atletico’s suffering was short lived though. Falcao was involved again, as he headed a cross directly into the path of Adrian Lopez, who simply had to direct the ball into the net. Atletico took the lead ten minutes later. A backheeled flick from Adrian Lopez was seized on by Diego, who crossed for Falcao to slide onto and slam the ball into the roof of the net. Lazio continued to have trouble with the wide areas. Another cross was simply gazed at by the Lazio back line. Only a quick reaction by goalkeeper Federico Marchetti kept Falcao’s diving header from giving Atletico a two goal lead going into halftime.

Lazio started the second half determined to equalize, and Atletico didn’t appear to be sitting back to protect their advantage, but by the hour mark the chances for either side to add to their tally were becoming fewer.

Atletico would strike again in the 63rd minute. Adrian Lopez ran down the right wing with the ball and crossed for Falcao, who, again, just had to to divert the ball into the empty net. Atletico had started to reassert their control over the game even before the third goal went in, but after taking a two goal lead, they were looking quite comfortable. Comfortable is how Atletico finished out the match, as they alternated between threatening to add a fourth goal, and settling back into cruise control, as the Roman crowed whistled its displeasure. I realize Lazio were injury depleted, but is this seriously the third best team in Serie A?

Elsewhere in the early slate of matches, Metalist Kharkiv put one very large foot in the round of 16 with a 4-0 win at Salzburg. The Ukrainian side took the lead just twenty seconds into the match, and things never improved for Salzburg. Lokomotiv Moscow fell behind to Athletic Bilbao just before half time, overturned the deficit with two second half strikes. Viktoria Plzen neutralized Schalke for much of their encounter, but a 75th minute Klaas Jan Huntelaar strike salvaged a draw for the Bundesliga club. AZ handed Belgian giants Anderlecht their first negative result in Europa League competition this season. Sporting braved a bitter winter night in Warsaw to snatch a late draw with Legia thanks to a spectacular stoppage time goal from Andre Santos.

Ajax, despite their struggles in domestic competition were up for the match with Manchester United, but despite giving them a fairly even match, United were clinical where Ajax were not. Luke Young and Javier Hernandez gave the English champions a two goal advantage to take back to Manchester.

The second live match for US television was the eagerly awaited encounter between Stoke City and Valencia. I already spoke my piece on the build up, so I’m just going to get straight to it.

Stoke were straight on the long ball attack and looking dangerous from the kick off. After Stoke’s opening flurry, the match settled down somewhat, which turned the proceedings in favor of Valencia and their possession game. It was the Spanish side who were unfortunate not to take the lead in the 20th minute, when Jonas squeezed off a tight angle shot in the Stoke area that Asmir Begovic did well to keep out. Valencia came close again minutes later. A shot from the edge of the area was deflected by a Stoke defender’s head, unsurprising, as there appeared to be about seven or eight Stoke players in the box. The deflected shot was just wide of Begovic’s post.

Somewhat ironically, a long ball, of sorts, provided Valencia’s break through in the 35th minute. Valencia had been threatening around the Stoke area for some time, but it was a long range strike from Mehmet Topal that flew into the top corner past a helpless Begovic.

Stoke almost got back on terms in the 39th minute, with their best chance of the game so far. A cross found Peter Crouch, who scissor kicked just over the bar. The Crouch chance was a one off though, as Valencia were able to see the first half through without further incident.

Valencia picked up where they left off to start the second half. Stoke were lucky not to go 2-0 behind when Sofiane Feghouli was allowed to waltz into the Stoke box, and his blocked cross just missed turning into an own goal for the Potters. Stoke were in danger again minutes later, when only a professional foul from Ryan Shawcross stopped Valencia from a breakaway pass.

As the game passed the hour mark, Valencia remained in relative control of things. Stoke began to see a bit more of the ball, but their long range efforts were looking increasingly speculative, instead of designed. For their part, Valencia missed a golden opportunity in the 70th minute to add a second goal. As Stoke pushed forward in search of the equalizer, Valencia were offered more counter attacking space. Jeremy Mathieu found Feghouli just inside the Stoke box, and the Algerian’s low shot beat Begovic, but was denied by the goal post.

The final stages of the match were marked more by Stoke City’s loss of their collective temper than by their futile search for an equalizer. Stoke picked up three yellow cards in less than three minutes as their frustration mounted. The match ultimately finished without anything else of note occuring.

In the other late games, there was an outbreak of late scoring. Hannover were 1-0 to Club Brugge and had an equalizer ruled out before striking back in the 73rd and 80th minutes. Sergio Aguero took advantage of the leaky back line that has plagued Porto all season to give Manchester City a late win in Portugal and a significant advantage in the tie. Wisla Krakow, reduced to ten men early on in the match and 1-0 to Standard Liege equalized from a last ditch free kick that found its way onto Tsvetan Genkov’s head.

In less dramatic matches, Twente only needed one goal to beat Steaua Bucharest, PAOK and Udinese played out a goalless draw, while PSV were 2-0 up on Trabzonspor after just 11 minutes. The Turkish side was able to pull one back, but that was it.

FC Porto 1 – Manchester City 2
Ajax Amsterdam 0 – Manchester United 2
Lokomotiv Moscow 2 – Athletic Bilbao 1
Red Bull Salzburg 0 – Metalist Kharkiv 4
Stoke City 0 – Valencia 1
Rubin Kazan 0 – Olympiacos 1*
AZ Alkmaar 1 – Anderlecht 0
SS Lazio 1 – Atletico Madrid 3
Steaua Bucharest 0 – Twente 1
Viktoria Plzen 1 – Schalke 04 1
Wisla Krakow 1 – Standard Liege 1
Braga 0 – Besiktas 2*
Udinese 0 – PAOK 0
Trabzonspor 1 – PSV Eindhoven 2
Hannover 96 2 – Club Brugge 1
Legia Warsaw 2 – Sporting CP 2

*Played Tuesday February 14

The attention surrounding this particular cup tie is down to Stoke City’s allegedly controversial style of play. Stoke have carved out a niche for themselves in the Premier League by harkening back to the days of Graham Taylor’s Watford, or Crazy Gang era Wimbledon. There’s no question that Stoke’s physical long ball game is not exactly easy on neutral eyes; I personally can’t stand it either, but the notion that Stoke have a negative effect on the game at large is a bit overwrought.

The biggest blow to Stoke’s reputation came last season, when Andy Gray laughably suggested that a cold night at the Britannia Stadium would unsettle Barcelona. This remark transformed Stoke from a mere football club to allegorical symbol of all the oafish, footballing clodhoppers that have ever existed.

I think the Stoke backlash is the natural result of football’s focus on a handful of super rich clubs for the benefit of the global television audience. If Stoke’s huffing and puffing was less successful, they might be forgiven, and given a pat on the head for providing some game opposition. Actually winning is going too far; the clubs that exist outside of the elite circle are expected to make up the numbers, not actually disrupt the next Super Sunday Showdown in any meaningful way.

Stoke haven’t fixed any matches, they haven’t assembled a bread and circuses cast of international superstars with the largesse of an ego stroking, trophy buying owner or done anything else that actually contravenes the rules of football.

If Stoke ever find themselves relegated, they’ll be discarded and forgotten about pretty much instantly. For instance, are fans that started paying attention to English football in the last couple of years aware that Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday used to be Premier League regulars? So, if a club of Stoke’s stature can grab onto a small measure of success by playing an ugly style of football, more power to them. It’s not something I would want to watch, but I’m not a Stoke fan. Back in 2008-09, Hertha Berlin, who I support, nearly, against all conceivable history and logic, won the Bundesliga. Through the lenses of partisan fervor, this was all very thrilling, and the perception that neutrals had of Hertha’s success: that it was the result of grinding football to a painful halt didn’t even register until way after the fact.

To Stoke: you really are an ugly side though. Please stop playing the role of beleaguered underdogs. I don’t begrudge your successes, but they are yours alone. I’ll be supporting Valencia tonight. We all have our limits.

Tomorrow’s draw should prove to be a great deal more interesting.

Group A: PAOK and Rubin were already qualified, so their match was simply a matter of deciding who went through as group winners. The 1-1 draw was enough for PAOK to top the group. Tottenham reserves brushed aside Shamrock Rovers, who end their European adventure with six losses from six matches.

PAOK 1 – Rubin Kazan 1
Shamrock Rovers 0 – Tottenham Hotspur 4

Group B: Hannover only needed a point against Vorskla to join Standard Liege in the last 32. They picked up a pretty routine 3-1 win against the Ukrainian side. The result ended up being academic, as Copenhagen failed to defeat Standard Liege, meaning Hannover would have progressed anyway.

Hannover 96 3 – Vorskla Poltava 1
FC Copenhagen 0 – Standard Liege 1

Group C: Not a whole lot to play for in this group, as PSV and Legia Warsaw were already through. Hapoel Tel Aviv picked up a meaningless, consolation win against Legia, while PSV finished off the group stage with a 2-1 win over Rapid Bucharest.

Hapoel Tel Aviv 2 – Legia Warsaw 0
PSV Eindhoven 2 – Rapid Bucharest 1.

Group G: AZ edged out Austria Vienna for a place in the last 32. The Austrian side defeated bottom dwellers Malmo, but AZ picked up a point from their match with Metalist Kharkiv to hold off the Austrians. AZ could have had all three points against Metalist, but goalkeeper Oleksandr Goryainov denied the Eredivisie leaders several golden opportunities.

AZ Alkmaar 1 – Metalist Kharkiv 1
Austria Vienna 2 – Malmo FF 0

Group H: Club Brugge and Braga split the points in Belgium, which, in turn, put Birmingham City out of the competition.

Club Brugge 1 – Braga 1
Birmingham City 1 – Maribor 0

Group I: Atletico Madrid, who were already through, defeated Rennes without much of a struggle, while picking up all three points at Udinese proved too much to ask of Celtic.

Atletico Madrid 3 – Rennes 1
Udinese 1 – Celtic 1

Group D: Sporting were already through and Zurich were out, leaving Lazio and Vaslui to battle it out for second place, and a place in the knockout rounds. The conclusion of the group was pretty straightforward. Vaslui lost at Zurich, while Lazio picked up a 2-0 over Sporting at the Stadio Olimpico. Lazio progress.

FC Zurich 2 – Vaslui 0
SS Lazio 2 – Sporting CP 0

Group E: Stoke City were already through, so their match with Besiktas was only a matter of first or second place. While Stoke’s 3-1 loss didn’t damage them very much, it assured the elimination of Dynamo Kiev. The Ukrainian side didn’t seem overly keen on progressing anyway. They surrendered a 2-0 advantage against a Maccabi Tel Aviv that had collected one point from five matches. Dynamo did claw their way back to 3-3, but it was far too little and too late by that point.

Dynamo Kiev 3 – Maccabi Tel Aviv 3
Besiktas 3 – Stoke City 1

Group F: A major unresolved situation going into the final group match was the progress of nouveau riche PSG. Things were looking alright for the Paris club at half time. They were 2-1 up on Athletic Bilbao, and Slovan Bratislava were holding off Red Bull Salzburg. In the fifty-second minute of the Salzburg match, Marian Had deflected a low cross into his own net to give the Austrian side a 3-2 lead, and in the fifty-fifth minute of the PSG match, a deflected, long range David Lopez strike equalized things for Bilbao.

PSG were handed a lifeline late in the game when they were awarded a penalty, but Nene troubled the denizens of the upper rows instead of Gorka Iraizoz. PSG did take the lead through more unlikely means just moments later. Melvut Erding was put through and his cross was put into the net by Athletic midfielder Inigo Perez. PSG were back on the penalty spot with under two minutes to go, when Ander Iturraspe was judged to have pulled down Nene. Guillaume Hoarau was the taker on this occasion, and he sent Iraizoz the wrong way to double PSG’s late advantage.

PSG’s destiny was not entirely in their own hands, however. They were left waiting for a Slovan Bratislava equalizer that never came. So despite the win over Athletic Bilbao, Red Bull Salzburg claimed second place in the group.

Slovan Bratislava 2 – Red Bull Salzburg 3
Paris Saint-Germain 4 – Athletic Bilbao 2

Group J: Schalke were already through, but the rest of group J was wide open going into the final match. Schalke dashed any hopes Maccabi Haifa had of going through with a 3-0 away win. Steaua Bucharest turned out to be the big winners on the day. They booked a place in the last 32 with a 3-1 victory over AEK Larnaca.

Maccabi Haifa 0 – Schalke 04 3
Steaua Bucharest 3 – AEK Larnaca 1

Group K: Twente were through and Odense out coming into match day six. Fulham started the day a point ahead of Wisla Krakow, and needed a win against the Odense to assure their progress.

Fulham were in control early on in this one, but Odense, having cleared a couple of attempts off the line were able to cling onto the 0-0 scoreline until the twenty-seventh minute. Kerim Frei crossed from the left side for Bobby Zamora, who laid the ball off for Clint Dempsey with one touch. Dempsey dispatched his shot low to the left to beat Odense goalkeeper Stefan Wessels. Fulham’s second goal came along in short order.
Moussa Dembele won the ball back on the edge of the Odense box and played a through ball for Frei, who rolled the ball through Wessel’s legs for 2-0.

Having a two goal lead caused Fulham to ease up in the second half, and Odense were able to pull a goal back from a sixty-fourth minute free kick. Fulham looked like they would be able to get through the rest of a nervy second half, but disaster struck with just seconds remaining in stoppage time. A Fulham counter attack led to nothing, and Odense began their final foray up the field. A long ball was put into the Fulham box by Espen Ruud and was met by Senegalese striker Baye Djiby Fall, who headed past reserve keeper Neil Etheridge to send the Cottagers crashing out in a most painful manner.

Wisla Krakow, did their part by beating already qualified Twente 2-1.

Wisla Krakow 2 – FC Twente 1
Fulham 2 – Odense 2

Group L: Nothing really to play for in this group; Anderlecht and Lokomotiv Moscow were comfortably through. Anderlecht completed the group stage with a 100 percent record after a resounding win against Lokomotiv Moscow, while AEK recorded their first points of the campaign with an away win at Sturm Graz.

Sturm Graz 1 – AEK Athens 3
Anderlecht 5 – Lokomotiv Moscow 3