csconstantine.com

MANCHESTER, England (AP)—Edin Dzeko’s first-half double helped Manchester City to a 3-0 win over Aris, easing the big-spending English club into the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday.

The January transfer-window signing from Wolfsburg scored in the seventh and 12th minutes of the last-32 second leg to put City 2-0 up on aggregate.

Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure added the third after the break to complete a comfortable home victory.

City, one of the favorites to win Europe’s second-tier competition this season, will play Ukrainian giant Dynamo Kiev in the second knockout round.

City had around 100 million pounds ($161 million) of attacking talent on show at Eastlands, with Dzeko selected alongside Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli in an exciting three-pronged forward line.

The trio had too much movement for the Aris defense, although a basic mistake by center back Nikolaos Lazaridis contributed to Dzeko’s opener.

Lazaridis’ miscontrol 40 meters away from his own goal was pounced on by the Bosnia striker, who ran through before drilling a low, angled finish into the far corner.

Dzeko’s second came when he collected a pass from Tevez, cut inside and curled a low shot into the corner from just inside the area.

Dzeko was denied a hat trick when he ran onto a slick throughball by David Silva but was foiled by goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis as he attempted to dribble the ball into the net.

Balotelli struck a shot against the post early in the second half but Toure wrapped up the victory in the 76th with a 25-meter drive that took a slight deflection into the bottom corner.

The only negative on the night for City was an injury to center back Vincent Kompany, who came off in the first half with a hip complaint.

Agences de presses

Labels: eases, Europa, league

Premier League side Liverpool have been struggling to find their best form this season and winning the domestic league title is almost mathematically impossible for manager Kenny Dalglish and his men. Additionally, they are already eliminated from both the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Liverpool still have a chance of lifting a trophy at the end of the season though as they are still in the Europa League, and defender Martin Skrtel is eager to do just that.

"In the last few weeks we've got some good results and that was really important for us, for the players and the club. We just hope we carry on," Skrtel was quoted as saying on the official UEFA website.

"The Europa League is nice for us and a great chance to win a trophy this season. We all have to give our best for a good result in this competition.

"For me it's a great feeling working with Kenny Dalglish because he's a legend at the club – an icon."

Liverpool host Sparta Prague on Thursday in the last 32 after recording a 0-0 draw in the away leg last week.

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Agences de presses

Labels: chance, Europa, Goalcom, Great, league, Liverpool, Martin, Skrtel, Trophy

By Brian Homewood

BERNE, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Liverpool need a huge improvement against Sparta Prague to avoid being frozen out of the Europa League this week and thermometers in Russia will be closely monitored in case of more controversy over sub-zero conditions.

Two round of 32 second-leg matches are scheduled to be played in Russia on Thursday with temperatures expected to be hovering around minus 15 Celsius, considered the safe minimum under FIFA and UEFA guidelines.

Last week, Dutch champions Twente Enschede played under protest away to Rubin Kazan amid confusion over the real temperature.

Tijs Tummers, secretary of the technical committee at the international players’ union FIFPro, told Reuters there had been discrepancies in readings.

“On all thermometers the temperature was minus 16 or minus 17, only the thermometer of UEFA gave a temperature of 14,9 Celsius,” he said.

“FC Twente and UEFA have agreed to evaluate the procedure of last week to prevent problems like this happening in the future.”

Tummers added that media reports had said the temperature dropped as low as minus 23 Celsius, even though the game had been brought forward to lunchtime from the originally-planned kickoff at 9pm local time.

The combination of early kickoff, freezing weather and new venue—it was even colder in Kazan itself—resulted in the match being played in front of 500 people in a 90,000 seater stadium.

Twente won 2-0 and can look forward to playing the return in relatively balmy temperatures just above freezing but the visitors to Russia face extremly challenging conditions.

Greek side PAOK Salonika battled to a 1-1 draw at CSKA Moscow on Tuesday but the Russians progressed to the last 16 2-1 on aggregate.

Spartak Moscow entertain Swiss champions FC Basel on Thursday with a 3-2 lead from the first leg and Zenit St Petersburg, Russian champions and 2008 UEFA Cup winners, face Young Boys trailing 2-1.

COMFORTABLE AJAX

Five-times European champions and three-times UEFA Cup winners Liverpool are arguably the biggest club still in the competition following the group-stage exit of Juventus.

Kenny Dalgish’s team barely mustered a shot on goal last week in Prague against a side who, like many of the eastern European teams, had been inactive for the previous two months due to the winter break.

Former European champions Ajax Amsterdam should cruise through, having won 3-0 at Anderlecht in the first leg, as should Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen, who have a 4-0 lead at home to Metalist Kharkiv.

Big-spending Manchester City take a 0-0 scoreline into their home leg following last week’s stalemate away to Greeks Aris Salonika.

Portuguese pair Porto and Benfica, both former European champions, have 2-1 leads from the first legs as Porto host Sevilla on Wednesday and Benfica visit VfB Stuttgart on Thursday.

The leaders of the Dutch and French leagues, PSV Eindhoven and Lille, meet again on Thursday, having produced a storming 2-2 draw in last week’s first leg.

Napoli, Italy’s sole survivors, appear to be the outsiders against Villarreal after being held 0-0 at home by the Spaniards.

(Editing by Mike Collett; To comment on this story: sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Agences de presses

Labels: Europa, Improve, PREVIEWSoccerLiverpool, Reuters, threatens

{

Liverpool need a huge improvement against Sparta Prague to avoid being frozen out of the Europa League this week and thermometers in Russia will be closely monitored in case of more controversy over sub-zero conditions.

Two round of 32 second-leg matches are scheduled to be played in Russia on Thursday with temperatures expected to be hovering around minus 15 Celsius, considered the safe minimum under FIFA and UEFA guidelines.

Last week, Dutch champions Twente Enschede played under protest away to Rubin Kazan amid confusion over the real temperature.

Tijs Tummers, secretary of the technical committee at the international players' union FIFPro, told Reuters there had been discrepancies in readings.

"On all thermometers the temperature was minus 16 or minus 17, only the thermometer of UEFA gave a temperature of 14,9 Celsius," he said.

"FC Twente and UEFA have agreed to evaluate the procedure of last week to prevent problems like this happening in the future."

Tummers added that media reports had said the temperature dropped as low as minus 23 Celsius, even though the game had been brought forward to lunchtime from the originally-planned kickoff at 9pm local time.

The combination of early kickoff, freezing weather and new venue -- it was even colder in Kazan itself -- resulted in the match being played in front of 500 people in a 90,000 seater stadium.

Twente won 2-0 and can look forward to playing the return in relatively balmy temperatures just above freezing but the visitors to Russia face extremly challenging conditions.

Greek side PAOK Salonika battled to a 1-1 draw at CSKA Moscow on Tuesday but the Russians progressed to the last 16 2-1 on aggregate.

Spartak Moscow entertain Swiss champions FC Basel on Thursday with a 3-2 lead from the first leg and Zenit St Petersburg, Russian champions and 2008 UEFA Cup winners, face Young Boys trailing 2-1.

COMFORTABLE AJAX

Five-times European champions and three-times UEFA Cup winners Liverpool are arguably the biggest club still in the competition following the group-stage exit of Juventus.

Kenny Dalgish's team barely mustered a shot on goal last week in Prague against a side who, like many of the eastern European teams, had been inactive for the previous two months due to the winter break.

Former European champions Ajax Amsterdam should cruise through, having won 3-0 at Anderlecht in the first leg, as should Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, who have a 4-0 lead at home to Metalist Kharkiv.

Big-spending Manchester City take a 0-0 scoreline into their home leg following last week's stalemate away to Greeks Aris Salonika.

Portuguese pair Porto and Benfica, both former European champions, have 2-1 leads from the first legs as Porto host Sevilla on Wednesday and Benfica visit VfB Stuttgart on Thursday.

The leaders of the Dutch and French leagues, PSV Eindhoven and Lille, meet again on Thursday, having produced a storming 2-2 draw in last week's first leg.

Napoli, Italy's sole survivors, appear to be the outsiders against Villarreal after being held 0-0 at home by the Spaniards.

Agences de presses

Labels: Europa, Eurosport, Improve, Liverpool, threatens, Yahoo

NYON, Switzerland (AP)—The most expensive tickets for the Europa League final cost less than the cheapest tickets generally available for the Champions League final.

UEFA’s Category 1 tickets for the Europa League final in Dublin went on sale Monday for ?135 ($185), with all fans able to buy Category 4 seats for ?50 ($68).

UEFA angered fans in England last week by asking for ?175 ($235) for the cheapest tickets available to neutral fans at Wembley Stadium for the Champions League final. Fans of the two finalists can get some seats for ?95 ($130).

The best seats at Wembley cost ?350 ($480) and all tickets are subject to a ?31 ($40) administration fee, which was singled out for criticism by supporters’ groups.

UEFA did not specify what it would charge to handle applications for tickets to see its second-tier competition final.

Europa League prices are lower than for last year’s final played in Hamburg, Germany, which ranged from ?55-?150 with a ?30 fee.

UEFA said last week it set prices according to market prices in the host city.

Ireland’s debt-ridden economy was bailed out last November and unemployment has tripled in the past three years.

The Europa League final is to be played on May 18 at the 51,000-capacity venue formerly known as Lansdowne Road.

Agences de presses

Labels: Europa, final, league, prices

Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik is not downtrodden by the 0-0 draw with Villarreal in the first-leg of their Europa League tie and believes qualification to the last 16 is still up for grabs.

The 23-year-old came on a substitute in the scoreless stalemate at the Stadio San Paolo on Thursday evening, as the Yellow Submarine took a fairly cautious approach.

"Villarreal defended very well, it was difficult to create chances," admitted the Slovakian international to CalcioNapoli24.it.

"I entered the match in progress, but there were no spaces to exploit. That tied us down a bit, but qualification [to the next round] is still open."

The second-leg takes place on February 24 at El Madrigal. Prior to that, Napoli will face Catania in Serie A action on Sunday night.

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Agences de presses

Labels: clash, Europa, Goalcom, Hamsik, league, Marek, Napoli, Qualify, still, Villarreal

PRAGUE (AP)—Liverpool was close to reaching the round of 16 of the Europa League by drawing with Sparta Prague 0-0 on Thursday.

The result left Liverpool a clear favorite for the second leg of the round of 32 match at Anfield in a week.

Players of Liverpool and Spart…
AP - Feb 17, 4:19 pm EST

Sparta played its first competitive match since Dec 15 due to the Czech Republic’s winter break, and looked more dangerous, especially in the first half.

Liverpool, badly missing its injured star playmaker and captain Steven Gerrard, had to wait for a decent chance until the 70th minute when right back Glen Johnson, one of the team’s most active players, fooled a couple of Sparta defenders before his curling shot went just wide.

“It was a difficult game,” Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said. “We rather were more defensive.

“As a manager that was fantastic,” added Dalglish, who was managing Liverpool in Europe for the first time.

He said the team’s performance was influenced by the fact he missed a number of players, including Daniel Agger and Christian Poulsen while Fabio Aurelio had to be replaced by Joe Cole due to an injury in the 37th minute.

Dalglish said it would be “a different game” next week and didn’t ruled out Gerard, Agger and Aurelio could be available.

As a positive sign, Dalglish hailed Cole’s return after a knee problem.

“We have to be patient,” he said. “Joe’s a valuable asset for us.”

Unmarked Sparta midfielder Leony Kweuke came close to earning a win for Sparta but his low drive from inside the area was saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

“It was not easy for us because we didn’t play for more than two months,” Sparta coach Josef Chovanec said. “We were trying to do our maximum.

“We may have had better chances but it was defense that dominated the game.”

Early in the second half, Kweuke’s header again went wide. Long-range attempts by Marek Matejovsky and Kamil Vacek then just missed the target.

Sparta’s first decent chance came in the 18th with Manuel Pamic breaking into the area after being released by Abena Biholong and his left-footer forced a diving save by Reina. Pamic blasting the ball over the bar in the 35th.

At that stage, Liverpool’s only answer came through lone striker David Ngog, who had a shot blocked and a header missing the goal a minute before halftime.

The match was briefly suspended about 15 minutes before the end when Sparta fans let off a smoke bomb.

Agences de presses

Labels: draws, Europa, league, Liverpool, Sparta

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2220: OK, that is quite enough from me. Sam Lyon will be with you on Saturday to guide you through that day's football action. Many thanks for all your thoughts and words of wisdom. 2218: Almost time to call it a night as far as this live text is concerned, but I won't be going anywhere before I deliver Chris Whyatt's verdict. Sidewick Raymond on Twitter: "Summary of the Liverpool-Prague game: A tedious series of throw-ins punctuated by some moderately firm backwards passes." 2213: I'm now being told salmon can comfortably exceed more than 20 mph. Speedy. Rangers goalscorer Steven Whittaker:"The tie is still alive for us. We just need to go over there and score and I'm sure we're capable of doing the job." Europa League Jon: "Young Boys - tonight might be the night you finally become men. In the last minute of injury time substitute Emmanuel Mayuka has only gone and sealed a come-from-behind 2-1 win against Zenit St Petersburg." 2217: RANGERS 1-1 SPORTING LISBON
Colin Moffat reports: "That's a sore one for Rangers, losing a goal so late. Increased aggression paid off early in the second half and Steven Whittaker's splendid headed goal put the home side in a strong position but they sat back in the closing stages and were hit by that late sucker-punch. Kyle Lafferty squandered a host of good chances on a night he won't look back on with much fondness." Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher: "We've got to make sure we do the job at Anfield." Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish: "There's a lot of value coming out of the game. It was not a classic. The onus is on the home team to put pressure on us and they did not really do that. On the night 0-0 was probably fair enough." Jez Meyer on Twitter: "Spurs beat Milan, Arsenal beat Barca, Liverpool barely manage a shot on target against Sparta Prague..." Europa League Jon: "Comeback o'clock - Spartak Moscow have only gone and turned a 2-0 deficit into a glorious 3-2 advantage away at Basle, Ananidze grabbing what will surely be the winner in injury time. Not gloating now, are you CSKA fans?" 2200: Hey, they gave us goals. Two of them. 2158: FULL-TIME: Rangers 1-1 Sporting Lisbon 2157: In the final minute of normal time at Rangers Kyle Lafferty has another opportunity from the edge of the area but his shot is straight at Rui Patricio and the goalkeeper beats the ball out once again. Europa League Jon: "Lille - boasting one of Europe's best home records - have shipped two in a minute and are now tied at 2-2 against PSV. Former Aston Villa man Wilfred Bouma got the first, Ola Toivonen completing the comeback seconds later. Porto have also struck late, Freddy Guarin putting them 2-1 up at Sevilla"
2156: Rangers goalscorer Kyle Lafferty races through on goal moments later but his low shot from the edge of the area is kept out by Rui Patricio. 2155: Lets be positive - a clean sheet for Liverpool. 2154: FULL-TIME: Sparta Prague 0-0 Liverpool 2130: Substitute Matias Fernandez evades the Rangers defence to head a right-wing cross into the bottom corner from eight yards. 2153: GOAL Rangers 1-1 Sporting Lisbon Terry Mahoney on Twitter: "Come on, Paul, display one of my tweets so that I don't feel that the last two hours has been entirely wasted." 2151: Three more minutes in Prague. 2150: Somebody has just texted to say that salmon can swim at 14 mph. Which perhaps tells you something about, in particular, entertainment levels in the Liverpool game. With three central defenders on the pitch, Liverpool are just ticking down the clock. 2146: Cracking effort from Sparta's Kamil Vacek, who drills a 20-yard effort narrowly wide as Pepe Reina attempts an athletic save. 2145: Joe Cole corner. Straight out of play. As a moment to epitomise the encounter in Prague I think it serves rather well. 2144: Ok, make sense of this please. Eight minutes left and King Kenny makes a change, lone striker David Ngog comes off, defender Martin Skrtel replaces him. What we have, we hold, perhaps? Europa League Jon: "Rolando - an anagram of a much better player - scored for Porto to put them up against Sevilla only for Freddie Kanoute to equalise seven minutes later. And they'll be doing whatever the opposite of dancing is in the streets of Basle as the Swiss side blow a two-goal lead, Kombarov and Dzyuba scoring to bring Spartak Moscow back level."
2143: Almost flashback time for Liverpool fans as Marek Matejovsky smashes a long-range strike narrowly wide. He once scored against the Reds for Reading. 2140: No major alarms for Rangers since they took the lead. The salmon line, by the way, is of the 'rose like a salmon' type, just to satisfy those of you who asked. 2136: Wow, the fog really seems to have lifted (the home fans and team) in Prague. And we have a chance. Pepe Reina makes a sharp low save to deny Leonard Kweuke with a cracking effort on the turn. 2134: A lot of smoke drifts across the pitch in Prague. And I mean a lot. He has disappeared from view. Like something out of a John Carpenter horror film. I half expect pirates to appear out of the mist. 2134: A goal eh. Just thought I'd dwell on that for a second or two. 2130: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Cracking, fantastic header from Steven Whittaker, who climbs above everybody else, salmon-like, to crash home Vladimir Weiss' corner. 2130: GOAL Rangers 1-0 Sporting Lisbon 2130: Roughly 25 minutes left in both Prague and Glasgow. No goals so far. Right now I would settle for just the one to tell you about. 2125: Not seen too much of Joe Cole so far. Strong defending from Sotiros Kyrgiakos, who pushes the dangerous Vaclav Kadlec off the ball. 2123: I want to tell you something meaningful and exciting - oh, I can. Cracking effort from Sparta striker Leonard Kweuke, who heads narrowly wide from 14 yards. 2122: Wonder what Kenny makes of European club management? 2121: Tight and cagey at Ibrox. Not the best pitch by any stretch of the imagination. Not that it can be used as an excuse for some of the misses. Zain Patel on Twitter: "Just think how bad it must be for Paul Fletcher! He has to watch both games!."
Thanks Zain. I feel kind of responsible. Europa League Jon: "One late first-half goal I failed to mention and it's gone to Basle who now lead Spartak Moscow 2-0 courtesy of Marco Streller's far post header from a 41st minute corner. As you were everywhere else as… hang on just a moment. Young Boys have equalised through Senad Lulic at home to Zenit St Petersburg."
2115: I am going to say this is an effort to provoke some response. The Liverpool match is feeble, dour and poor. Just give us something, anything to clutch on to, to persuade us to stick with you. Yes, OK, so we have had a surfeit of riches this week but just provide one jewel of your own. 2112: Straight from the re-start Kyle Lafferty flicks on a long ball from Richard Foster, Steven Whittaker latches onto it but his low left-footed shot from 15 yards is tipped around the post by Rui Patricio. 2109: Play back under way at Ibrox. BTW, one change I should have mentioned in the Liverpool game - naughty of me not to do so - Joe Cole is on for Fabio Aurelio, who was injured late in the first half. 2107: Play resumes in Prague. Can we do better this half, please? Loyal Royal, via text: "Speaking of familiar faces, Liverpool will be all too familiar with the sight of Marek Matejovski, who was in the Reading squad that knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup last year." RANGERS 0-0 SPORTING LISBON
Colin Moffat's half-time snap shot: "Sporting have bossed possession in the first 45 minutes against a nervous home defence but the two best chances have fallen to Rangers' lone striker Kyle Lafferty, who headed high and wide on both occasions." Gary and Cameron, via text: "Dear Kenny, we are going to the 2nd leg. Please do not win or lose heavily. 0-0 is good so keep the talk at half-time low key. Thanks Gary & Cameron." 2051: Half-time: Rangers 0-0 Sporting Lisbon Calum McClurkin on Twitter: "Switching over between the Liverpool and Rangers game and I don't know which one is worse. Both equally bad." SPARTA PRAGUE 0-0 LIVERPOOL
Chris Whyatt's half-time snap shot: "Barca-like possession from Liverpool initially but Sparta's penetrative wide men turning the tide." Europa League Jon: "Lille have doubled their advantage against PSV with Tulio de Melo grabbing his fifth goal of the season. FC Basle are also ahead, Alexander Frei scoring for them at home to Spartak Moscow, whose fans will only be further discouraged to learn that CSKA Moscow are a goal up at PAOK Salonika. And Young Boys, who not so long ago were leading AC Milan's midweek conquerors Spurs 3-0 in a Champions League qualifier, are a goal down at home to Zenit St Petersburg. How the worm turns..." 2051: Half-time: Sparta Prague 0-0 Liverpool 2050: Chances started to flow now. Rangers keeper Allan McGregor makes a cracking smothering save after Yannick Djalo dances through the Scottish team's defence. 2048: Best chance so far for Liverpool. David Ngog heads down a corner but Dirk Kuyt cannot quite make contact with a shot on the turn. 2046: Rangers are having a good spell at the moment. Steven Whittaker lifts the ball over the Sporting keeper as Rui Patricio advances off his line but it also clears the crossbar. Ed Morris on Twitter: "I have only just realised how boring football is when Arsenal and Barcelona are not involved." 2044: Not lost it has he, old Repka. I refer, of course, to the aggression and hint of malice. He is booked after tangling with David Ngog, who is unlucky to also find his way into the book. 2042: Finally something of a sight of goal for Liverpool but Sparta close down the largely anonymous David Ngog very quickly and his shot is blocked. 2040: A sweeping move from Rangers ends disappointingly when Kyle Lafferty heads over from close range. Poor. Over in Prague, Marek Matejovsky has a dangerous looking strike blocked. 2038: Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina fails to hold a cross from the right and the loose ball drops to the heavily involved Manuel Pamic, but he shoots wastefully wide. 2035: Half an hour gone in Prague and, disappointingly, there has not really been a clear-cut chance. 2033: Who is that being given a talking to from the ref after nailing an opponent. Oh yeh, Sparta Prague's Tomas Repka. Elliot Sims on Twitter: "Oddly happy to see Lech Poznan get through. Maybe it's because I'm a City fan, but I'm not sure." 2031: Another chance for Sporting, created by another familiar face. Pedro Mendes, once of Tottenham, Portsmouth and Rangers, crosses but Daniel Carrico heads wastefully over. Europa League Jon: "A great start for France's Ligue 1 leaders Lille who take the lead against PSV Eindhoven through Idrissa Gueye. Apparently it's a 20-yard drive from a half-cleared corner - might be worth watching later."
2027: On an evening rich in familiar faces, former Spurs striker Helder Postiga drills a left-foot strike wide for Sporting after creating space with a sharp turn. Ricardo, Preston, via text: "Re Suarez - there's some long uefa rule which basically says you can't play in the same tournament for 2 clubs, or a tournament which your old club is still involved in. Suarez obviously fails under the latter. Pity, get Carroll fit!" 2024: Problems for Rangers. Madjid Bougherra picks up a shoulder injury and it looks as though Rangers will be forced into a change but he is able to continue. 2022:More problems for Liverpool. Martin Abena plays a cracking ball through to Manuel Pamic, whose left-foot strike across goal is palmed clear by Pepe Reina. 2021: Sparta win a corner and the ball is cleared to the 20-yard line. Another disappointing shots follows but it nevertheless is indicative of the fact that Sparta have started to climb into this contest a little. 2020: Rangers threaten to break forward but, oh hold on, there is a distinct lack of support players once a bridgehead is established at the half-way line. 2018: A sight of goal for Sparta, though I don't think Pepe Reina was too concerned as Andrej Keric drilled his strike wide from a tight angle. 2017: Possession, possession, possession. I wonder if the Liverpool players watched events at the Emirates on Wednesday. Europa League Jon: "Alas it looks like the gamblers among you will be going to work tomorrow after all as the all-aways accumulator has come unstuck. Dynamo Kiev did their bit by winning 4-1 at Besiktas, Andriy Shevchenko among the scorers but normality returned elsewhere. Benfica came from behind to beat Stuttgart 2-1, Lech Poznan edged a tight game with Braga 1-0 while the Napoli v Villarreal and BATE Borisov v PSG matches finished tied, 0-0 and 2-2 respectively." 2012: Rangers boss Walter Smith watching his team form up in the stands. No big drama so far although former Chelsea player Maniche drags a shot well wide. Ish Kadodia on Twitter: "Vaclav Kadlec....18 year old for Sparta Prague been in the first team since 2008! Watch out for him..." 2010: Decent start from Liverpool. Dominant indeed. Sotiros Kyrgiakos cannot quite get his head on a free-kick from Fabio Aurelio. 2006: Play has started at Ibrox, Rangers in their normal blue, Sporting in white. No green in sight. 2005: The match has started in Prague, Liverpool in white shirts and black shorts. Johnnyboy, via text: "It's a strange rule that allows Torres to play for Chelsea in the Champions League despite him playing for Liverpool in the Europa League but Ajax started in the Champions League and dropped into the Europa League. So why is Suarez ineligible when he has not played on this competition?" 2001: The Sparta and Liverpool teams working their way out of the tunnel. Rangers and Sporting have yet to quite reach that stage. 2000: Sparta Prague back in action tonight after their winter break. I could do with one of those. I guess there has to be some plus points to living in a country that has very cold winters. Tomas Repka in the Sparta side. Remember him? Europa League Jon: "One 1800 GMT kick-off has finished with Ajax celebrating a 3-0 win against Anderlecht, Danish teenager Christian Eriksen adding to his burgeoning reputation with the second goal. Incidentally, stat fans, that is the third away win on the trot tonight - could there be a multi-millionaire in the making out there?" 1956: Apparently 16-year-old Liverpool striker Raheem Sterling did not make it on to the bench because he had some homework to finish. Not really, but he is on half term and apparently did take some school work with him. Dedication, that's what it takes. 1953: Just a quick line on Liverpool forward Luis Suarez. He is not involved tonight because he is not eligible to play having already played for Ajax in Europe this season. Hope that clears that one up. Bored Serbio, via text: "In some tedious market research focus group in Wimbledon - good luck David Ngog. Deserves the start. Please deliver." Arkwright on Twitter: "Greetings from Poland, Poznan 1 Braga 0, 5 mins to go. The nutters are playing in a snowstorm, but do the home fans care?" Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish: "It's a great thrill [being back in Europe]. It's been a long time. We're in a competition that doesn't mean a lot to anybody that's not in it. But it means something to us, and we want to do our best. Sparta have got a couple of new signings and they've had a winter break, and this is their first game back. So it'll be a difficult game for us. But we know roughly what to expect." ilan dee on Twitter: "All the talk this week about Raheem Sterling (5 great goals in the youth game!) - shame to see it didn't make the bench." 1945: SPARTA PRAGUE v LIVERPOOL
Chris Whyatt reports: "Liverpool are a totally reinvigorated club now following the second coming of Kenny Dalglish as manager. Remarkably, given his epic exploits as a phenomenal player bewitching the continent's best, King Kenny has never taken charge of the Anfield club on the European stage. Until now. That's as far as it goes for history in tonight's tie with Sparta Prague, who sit second in the Czech league. Tantalisingly, if 16-year-old [and 71 days] Raheem Sterling had featured, he'd have become the club's youngest ever first-team player. Not even on the bench." 1945: Time for a little shameless self-promotion. Around the time Kenny Dalglish returned to Liverpool with the aim of reviving his former club's fortunes, Stockport fans favourite Peter Ward was put in charge of the Hatters. Forget about Europe, his aim is to keep Stockport in the Football League. I spoke to him recently and found out that it isn't proving easy, at all. 1940: RANGERS v SPORTING LISBON
Rangers: McGregor, Foster, Bougherra, Weir, Papac, Whittaker, Edu, Davis, Weiss, Diouf, Lafferty. Subs: Alexander, Fleck, Naismith, Healy, Bartley, Ness, Hutton.
Sporting: Rui Patricio, Joao Pereira, Daniel Carrico, Anderson Polga, Evaldo, Mendes, Maniche, Zapater, Cristiano, Postiga, Djalo. Subs: Tiago, Carlos Saleiro, Fernandez, Andre Santos, Diogo Solomao, Coelho, Vukcevic.
Referee: Manuel Grafe (Germany) 1936: Help needed. Without you this live text is nothing. So, tweet via the hashtag #BBCFootball, ask me a question direct @Paul__Fletcher or text me via 81111 (UK). Thanks in anticipation. Europa League Jon: "Two results to tell you about from the day's early matches and they're good news for anyone going for a five away wins forecast. FC Twente won 2-0 at Rubin Kazan thanks to late strikes from Luuk de Jong and Peter Wisgerhof and will be confident of easing through next week's return leg. And Leverkusen effectively sealed their place in the last 16 with a 4-0 victory at Metalist, Sidney Sam scoring twice in injury time for the side currently second in the Bundesliga." 1934: SPARTA PRAGUE v LIVERPOOL
Sparta Prague: Blazek, Kusnir, Repka, Brabec, Pamic, Keric, Vacek, Kadlec, Matejovsky, Abena, Kweuke. Subs: Zitka, Podany, Sionko, Bondoa, Zeman, Husek, Pekhart.
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Wilson, Kuyt, Lucas, Maxi, Aurelio, Ngog, Meireles. Subs: Gulacsi, Cole, Pacheco, Jovanovic, Kelly, Coady, Skrtel.
Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany) 1931: RANGERS v SPORTING LISBON
BBC Sport's Colin Moffat reports: "We have a Scottish team in Europe beyond Christmas for the first time since Rangers reached the Uefa Cup final in 2008. With Nikica Jelavic cup-tied and Kenny Miller now plying his trade in Turkey, a lot rests on the angular shoulders of Kyle Lafferty. The Northern Irishman leads the home attack and manager Walter Smith will want El-Hadji Diouf, Vladimir Weiss and Steven Whittaker to drive on and support him. Sporting are struggling on the home front and an early goal for the hosts would be a real test of their mettle. Ibrox isn't a sell-out but we should be in for a noisy night of drama." 1930: Thursday, that can mean only one thing - and I am not talking about Question Time (although that is, I reckon, a pretty good show). It is very much Europa League night, with Liverpool in action at Sparta Prague and Rangers hosting Sporting Lisbon. We are down to the last 32 in this competition, snappily termed the round of 32 by Uefa. I like to call it the approach towards the business end.


Agences de presses

Labels: Europa, happened, league, Sport

LONDON (AP)—Three-time winner Liverpool was fortunate to leave Sparta Prague with a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 match, but fellow former champions Ajax, FC Porto and CSKA Moscow emerged with away wins on Thursday.

Kenny Dalglish’s first European match in charge of the Reds was a dull affair which Sparta shaded, with Leonard Kweuke and Kamil Vacek coming close for the hosts in the second half.

Ajax, the winner of Europe’s second-tier competition in 1992 when it was called the UEFA Cup, thrashed Anderlecht 3-0 with goals by Toby Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen and Mounir El Hamdaoui.

Czech striker Tomas Necid scored the winner for 2005 champion CSKA Moscow in a 1-0 victory at PAOK Salonika, and 2003 winner FC Porto beat Sevilla 2-1 thanks to Fredy Guarin’s late strike.

Villarreal held on for 0-0 at 10-man Napoli but Zenit St. Petersburg, the 2008 champion which was the only team to win all six of its group-stage matches, lost 2-1 at Young Boys.

The second-leg matches in the competition’s first knockout round are spread out over next week.

Dalglish’s first stint as Liverpool manager was from 1985 to 1991, when the English giant was banned from European competition following a deadly riot in the 1985 European Cup final against Juventus at Heysel Stadium.

The 59-year-old Scot was hired for a second stint at the Reds last month and has sparked an upturn in fortunes, but the team’s performance in Prague was reminiscent of those under his predecessor, the beleaguered Roy Hodgson.

The competition winners in 1973, ’76 and 2001 were second best against a side playing its first competitive fixture in two months, due to the Czech Republic’s winter break. A draw makes Liverpool favorite to go through, however.

“I’m still undefeated in Europe,” said Dalglish. “It wasn’t a classic but 0-0 was a fair result and I’m happy with that.”

Alderweireld scored the opener against the team from the country of his birth, heading home a corner in the 33rd minute, and then provided the assist for Denmark youngster Eriksen’s goal in the 60th.

Marcin Wasilewski missed a penalty for Belgian leaders Anderlecht, which won the competition in 1983, before El Hamdaoui wrapped up victory by beating the offside trap and sweeping in a finish in the 69th.

Porto, the unbeaten leader of the Portuguese league, breezed through its group by winning five and drawing one of its six matches, and took the lead in Seville through Rolando in the 58th.

Frederic Kanoute equalized for two-time winner Sevilla in the 65th but Colombia striker Guarin popped up with the winning goal with five minutes remaining, taking advantage of a defensive mix-up to roll the ball home.

Serie A topscorer Edinson Cavani had a goal disallowed for offside and was denied twice by Villarreal goalkeeper Diego Lopez as Napoli, the only Italian team left in Europe’s second-tier club competition, was held at San Paolo Stadium. Salvatore Aronica was sent off for Napoli in the last minute.

“We found out the level we need to play in the competition,” Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri said. “Considering who we were playing, this isn’t a bad result.”

Zenit, one of four Russian teams in the last 32, also had a player red-carded—Vladimir Bystrov in the 69th, when the score was 1-1 against Young Boys.

Emmanuel Mayuka took advantage of the Swiss side’s numerical superiority by grabbing the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Spartak Moscow rallied from 2-0 down at halftime to beat Basel 3-2 away, with Jano Ananidze completing the turnaround two minutes into injury time.

French league leader Lille’s 2-2 home draw with PSV Eindhoven was marred by pre-match violence in the city center, with French TV reporting that 30 away fans were arrested as a result of clashes with police.

Peguy Luyindula’s last-minute strike salvaged Paris Saint-Germain, second in France’s Ligue 1, a 2-2 draw at BATE Borisov.

Elsewhere, Benfica rallied to beat Stuttgart 2-1, former AC Milan and Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko was one of Dynamo Kiev’s scorers in its 4-1 thrashing of Besiktas, late strikes by Luuk de Jong and Peter Wisgerhof earned Dutch champion FC Twente a 2-0 win in subzero temperatures at Rubin Kazan and Artjoms Rudnevs netted the winner for Polish side Lech Poznan in a 1-0 home victory over Braga.

Agences de presses

Labels: draws, Europa, league, Liverpool

* South Americans on target for Porto, Benfica

* Ajax thrash Anderlecht, Twente beat Rubin

* Zenit St Petersburg lose to YB, Spartak beat Basel

By Brian Homewood

BERNE, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Substitute Fredy Guarin gave former European champions Porto a late 2-1 Europa League win at Sevilla on Thursday while their old rivals Benfica beat VfB Stuttgart by the same score.

Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg, who won all their group stage games, lost to a stoppage time goal at Young Boys in another round of 32 first leg tie.

However, their compatriots Spartak Moscow were on the right end of a comeback away to Swiss opponents as they bounced back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at FC Basel.

Ajax won 3-0 at Anderlecht while fellow Dutch side Twente Enschede were among several teams who endured freezing conditions in eastern Europe, beating Rubin Kazan 2-0 in Moscow where the temperature hovered around minus 15 Celsius.

Lille were held 2-2 at home after a late rally by PSV Eindhoven in a meeting of the French and Dutch league leaders.

Porto, beaten only once in 34 outings in the Portuguese League and Cup and Europa League this season, went ahead in the 58th minute when Rolando stabbed home after a free kick.

Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute levelled in the 65th, also from a free kick, before Colombia midfielder Guarin stole the win with five minutes left as Porto made a happy return to the scene of their 2003 UEFA Cup final win over Celtic.

Stuttgart’s impressive European form has been in marked contrast to their shaky Bundesliga performances this season and Martin Harnik gave them a first-half lead in Lisbon.

But Benfica hit back as Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo, one of eight South Americans in the team, equalised in the 70th and Argentine Franco Jara got the winner with nine minutes left.

ZAMBIAN HERO

Zambian striker Emmanuel Mayuka was the Young Boys hero, scoring in the third minute of added time on the Stade de Suisse’s artificial pitch to snatch a 2-1 win over 2008 UEFA Cup winners Zenit. The 20-year-old only came on in the 83rd.

Belgian international Nicolas Lombaerts had given Zenit a first-half lead with a header from a corner.

Senad Lulic levelled with a solo effort within a minute of the restart and the Russians had substitute Vladimir Bystrov sent off for a second bookable offence 20 minutes from time.

It was the other way round at FC Basel where Alex Frei and Marco Streller gave the Swiss champions a 2-0 halftime lead against Spartak Moscow in a clash of two sides parachuted into the competition after being knocked out of the Champions League.

But Dmitri Kombarov, Artem Dzyuba and substitute Jano Ananidze scored for the Russians in the last half hour while Basel had forward Xherdan Shaqiri sent off.

Ajax made light of Luis Suarez’s absence—the Uruguay forward having been sold to Liverpool in the January transfer window—as Tony Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen and Mounir El Hamdaoui shared the goals at Anderlecht.

Marcin Wasilewski squandered a 55th minute penalty, one of several opportunities wasted by the hosts, when they were only 1-0 behind.

NO CLASSIC

Liverpool could not field Suarez under UEFA regulations, with his former club also playing in the competition, and failed to find the target as they drew 0-0 at Sparta Prague.

“It wasn’t a classic,” Kenny Dalglish told Britain’s Channel Five television after managing Liverpool in Europe for the first time.

“The onus was on them to try to put us under a wee bit of pressure. We made a couple of opportunities as well. On the night, 0-0, fair enough. I’m happy with that.”

PSV’s Ola Toivonen set up an 83rd minute goal for Wilfred Bouma against Lille before scoring the equaliser himself one minute later as the Dutch side came from behind after Idrissa Gueye and Tulio De Melo gave the French a 2-0 halftime lead.

Peguy Luyindula scored an 89th minute equaliser to give Paris St Germain a 2-2 draw at BATE Borisov in Minsk, another match played in temperatures well below freezing.

Bayer Leverkusen also had to contend with bitter conditions in Ukraine as they thumped Metalist Kharkiv 4-0.

Eren Derdiyok and Gonzalo Castro scored either side of halftime before Sidney Sam got two more for the Bundesliga side.

Metalist’s compatriots Dynamo Kiev enjoyed contrasting fortune as they won 4-1 at Besiktas with former AC Milan and Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko among the scorers.

(Editing by Ken Ferris; To comment on this story: sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Agences de presses

Labels: Benfica, Europa, league, Porto, Reuters, steal