UEFA Cup Thursday Live Blog

Here are the scores, as they stand, in the UEFA Cup’s 16 matches today. Keep refreshing for updates. For final scores, the progressing side is in bold.

Bayer Leverkusen 5-1 Galatasaray
Hamburg 0-0 Zurich
Spartak Moscow 2 – 0 Marseille
Panathinaikos 1 – 1 Rangers
Bayern Munich 5 – 1 Aberdeen
Helsingborg 1-2 PSV Eindhoven
Getafe 3-0 Athens
Atletico Madrid 0-0 Bolton
Bordeaux 1-1 Anderlecht
Fiorentina 2-1 Rosenborg
Tottenham 1-1 Slavia Prague
Villarreal 2-1 Zenit St. Petersburg
Everton 6-1 Brann Bergen
Basel 0-3 Sporting Lisbon
Nurnberg 2-2 Benfica
Braga 0-1 Werder Bremen

Live Commentary
(All times in GMT)

23:18 – Well that’s it for today. The round of 16 is booked. Some great games and a glut of goals, which is always good to see in the sometimes cagey second leg.

23:05 – Werder up a goal and up four on aggregate. That’s that then. Their goal comes via Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic, who now has three goals in three appearances this season for Bremen. He might be worth a bit more time on the pitch.

22:35 – Still a scoreless draw in Braga, and every moment that goes by gets Werder closer to a round of 16 matchup with Rangers. 3-0 always feels inevitable, but we’ve seen some pretty strange things today, so who knows? Still, if Braga is going to do something, now would be a good time.

21:55 – Unbelievable. With two goals in the last two minutes, Benfica have stolen this from Nurnberg and progress to the round of 16 in the most surprising fashion imaginable.

21:53 – WOW. Benfica are having none of this talk about German sweeps. Two goals in the last two minutes, and all of the sudden they’re up on aggregate over Nurnberg. Out of nowhere. Amazing.

21:50 – Everton make it 6-1 and outdo the German blowouts by one, as Andrew Johnson gets his second of the day. Impressive.

21:39 – Villareal scores late to make it 2-1 over now 9-man Zenit, but Zenit holds on for the away-goals win. 2-2 on aggregate and 1-0 on away goals to Zenit. The Russian league survives another round in Europe. It now looks certain that all three English sides will move on, but Everton’s the only one that is doing it with a win.

21:37 – Getafe and PSV can officially book their Round of 16 trips.

21:31 – Speaking of Portugal, we are underway as Braga try to climb out of a sizable hole and ruin what will otherwise be a 5-for-5 round for the Bundesliga. Rosenborg brings one back, but it won’t be enough to save them.

21:28 – Getafe, Nurnberg and Everton all extend their leads in the same minute. It looks like nothing is going to spoil the German party tonight, again short of a real miracle in Portugal. And at Goodison, it’s the third 5-1 match of the day, as Yakubu gets a European hat trick.

21:23 – Viola and Helsingborg both score, the former to increase their lead, the latter really as a consolation. Getafe also gets a bit of a cushion with their second over Athens. Bolton and Tottenham both have five minutes and change to hold onto their slight leads and move forward.

21:20 – Nurnberg finally breaks the stalemate with Benfica, and they are tied on aggregate and away goals. Still a half an hour to go until extra time is necessary, though.

21:17 – Villareal take advantage of being a man up, and equalize with Zenit, but like Bordeaux, they remain a goal behind on aggregate. Brann brings one back with a 60th minute strike from Moen, but it can only be a consolation now.

21:13 – Bordeaux equalizes on a goal from Cavenaghi. But they need another, and a subsequent red card for Tremoulinas makes that an even harder task. Football giveth and taketh away for Bordeaux.

21:09 – PSV and Lisbon both add to their leads and make them that much more insurmountable. Basel and Helsingborg are done for this campaign. And Everton does the same with Yakubu taking his second of the match. That’s it for Brann as well.

21:07 – Not much to report. Many of these ties are basically decided, but Athens, Atletico and Slavia are just one goal away from earning themselves extra time.

20:55 – Slavia equalizes at White Hart Lane to give themselves a life line, but they’ll still need another to even things up.

20:51 – It just keeps getting worse for Scandinavian teams tonight, who seem to have hit their limit. PSV nets to go up three goals total, and Helsingborg is all but head, joining Brann and Rosenborg in that category.

20:46 – We’re at halftime in all matches now, with the earlier set restarting in a moment. Things have slowed dow a bit, and all we’re really seeing is the rich getting richer, in terms of leads. We’ll see how the second halves play out.

20:42 – Andrew Johnson makes it a 4-0 aggregate win so far for Everton, with a good chance of more to come. Meanwhile, Sporting has gone up 2-0 and 4-0 overall as well, and those two matches are pretty much decided.

20:37 – Everton go ahead on Yakubu’s strike. That’s 3-0 aggregate to the Toffees, and they’re sure to move on. At this point, they may even be the favorites, although those two 5-1 victories by Bayern and Leverkusen make a case that we’ll see some Black, Red, and Yellow in Manchester for the final as well.

20:35 – Helsingborg have been one of the highest-scoring sides in the competition this year, but they’ll need two more if they want to catch up to PSV and move on. Another scoreless half will see them going home empty-handed.

20:29 – Getafe puts one in to break the stalemate in Spain, and go up a goal on AEK Athens, who will have it all to do to score on the Spaniards in their own house come the second half.

20:28 – No real surprises in the last half hour. All the goals have been adding to leads, not against them. Let’s see some upsets (just preferably, for me, not at Goodison).

20:21 – Viola make it a second aggregate goal over Rosenborg, possibly bringing the great European season of the Norwegian side to an end in Italy.

20:16 – HUGE away goals for Zenit and Anderlecht, as they both put their aggregate leads to two goals and put their bigger-league opponents on the back foot.

20:05 – Pereirinha nets for Lisbon in just the 2nd minute. Sporting looks pretty sure to move on now.

20:00 – Three more matches have kicked off, with Benfica the only side with a real chance at silencing the German party tonight. They lead Nurnberg by a goal from the first leg.

19:54 – Spurs strike first at the Lane, with Jamie O’Hara scoring his first for the club. That’s 3-1 aggregate to Spurs, and a very uphill battle, if not an impossible one, for the Czechs.

19:48 – And we’re underway in our seven 19:45 fixtures.

19:38 – A wee break in the action before seven matches kick off at 19:45. A minute to catch the breath and get some food. It’s almost time for the Spaniards and Englishmen to show whether they can do what the Germans have done today and move multiple teams into the round of 16.

19:33 – Well, that’s it in Munich. Three German sides are through to the round of 16, with Bremen almost certain to join them and Nurnberg still in with a chance. Bayern will face either Anderlecht or Bordeaux, and with the recent form of the French side, they have to be hoping for a trip to Belgium instead.

19:26 – So much for bringing one back. Bayern equal the result that Leverkusen achieved earlier today, going up 5-1 in a goal-scoring romp in Germany. This time, it’s Mark van Bommel with a low shot past Langfield and into the Aberdeen net.

19:24 – Steve Lovell brings one back for the Dons, after Barry Nicholson very nearly did the same. Nice to see they’re not giving up. Nice consolation.

19:18 – Oh my. Podolski again to make it 4-0. Bayern is really grinding the boot down now.

19:13 – Lukas Podolski extends the lead for Bayern, off of a rebound from a shot by Miroslav Klose. That’s about it in Germany, sad to say.

19:05 – Josh Walker, one of the heroes of Aberdeen’s 2-2 home draw with Munich, is subbed out. At least he doesn’t have worry about a second yellow. Head up, Josh. Great tournament.

19:00 – Another yellow card for Aberdeen, with Darren Mackie picking up the booking. That’s five yellows on the night for the Dons, and they’ve gone all of 16 minutes at a stretch without one. At least you can’t say they’re not putting in their all. Mackie nets for Dons, but is called offside … tough night.

18:52 – Rangers are through to the round of 16 for the second straight year. They left it late, but at least Scotland is still alive in Europe. I don’t even try to hide my bias. Too much typing today to think that much. Rangers will almost certainly face Werder Bremen, barring a miracle in Portugal later today.

18:46 – Risky defending from Rangers as we enter stoppage time, but the score remains 1-1. Aberdeen and Munich are back on the pitch in Germany.

18:39 – GOOOOAAL Rangers. I spoke too soon. Nacho Novo puts it in to equalize this match and give Rangers the edge on away goals. Now it’s Rangers who need to hold the scoreline. Luckily, holding the scoreline is what they are best known for, and they should be able to keep Pana at bay for another 8 minutes or so.

18:35 – Rangers now have ten minutes plus stoppage to score the one goal they need to move on. Otherwise, all three Scottish teams in Europe look to be heading home early. Rangers made the round of 16 last season, but then last season, they were also completely eliminated from winning the SPL by this point, so they’ll be hard-pressed to be too disappointed.

18:29 – Barry Nicholson picks up a yellow card, the fourth for Aberdeen in what will surely be a very frustrating night. And that’s halftime in Munich.

18:24 – It’s all over in Moscow. Marseille take the tie, 3-2 on aggregate, and progress to the round of 16. They’ll face the winner of Zenit and Villareal later today. But the Russian league gets its points.

18:20 – Bayern Munich puts what has to be the final nail in Aberdeen’s coffin as van Buyten makes it 2-0, and 4-2 aggregate. No shame, Dons – it was a great run.

18:16 – The entire Russian league has reason to celebrate, as Pavlyuchenko nets for Spartak Moscow, ensuring a win and the league’s place as the 6th-ranked league in Europe at this point. It won’t be enough to move Spartak on though.

Category: UEFA Cup