UEFA Cup Thursday Results

Group A

Manchester C. 3 - 2 FC Twente Enschede

Racing Santander 1 - 1 Schalke

Group B

Metalist Kharkiv 0 - 0 Hertha BSC

Benfica 0 - 2 Galatasaray

Group C

Stuttgart 2 - 0 Partizan Belgrade

Standard Liege 1 - 0 Sevilla

Group D

Spartak Moscow 1 - 2 Udinese

Tottenham H. 4 - 0 Dinamo Zagreb

Group E

Wolfsburg 5 - 1 SC Heerenveen

AC Milan 1 - 0 Braga

Group F

Ajax Amsterdam 1 - 0 Zilina

Slavia Prague 0 - 1 Aston Villa

Group G

Saint-Etienne 3 - 0 Rosenborg

Valencia 1 - 1 FC Copenhagen

Group H

Lech Poznan 2 - 2 Nancy Feyenoord

Rotterdam 1 - 3 CSKA Moscow

Villa Victorious In Prague

John Carew scored the winner as Aston Villa picked up a 1-0 win over Slavia Prague in the UEFA Cup on Thursday.
It was a first defeat for the Czech club at their new Eden Stadium in all competitions.
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill made wholesale changes to his side for the match in the Czech Republic with senior players Martin Laursen, Gareth Barry and Nigel Reo-Coker starting on the bench.
Steve Sidwell was given a rare start and it was the midfielder who setup the goal for Villa. The former Chelsea man had a good shot in the 26th minute which was deflected off striker John Carew and into the back of the net.
The Norwegian striker was credited with the goal and then went on to produce another two good chances which were both saved by Prague goalkeeper Martin Vaniak.
Ashley Young also had a fantastic chance thereafter when the England international's free-kick crashed into the post.
Slavia did create a chance of their own and nearly got an equaliser just before the break when Karel Jarolim forced Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan into a diving one-handed save.
Five minutes into the second period defenders Carlos Cuellar and Zat Knight combined horribly to gift Slavia a corner. The home side nearly capitalised as skipper Erich Brabec unleashed a shot which flew inches wide of Guzan's goal.
In the 65th minute Guzan was into the action again and the American produced another inspiring save to deny midfielder Jaroslav Cerny the equaliser. Another chance came about just seconds later when Tomas Necid was gifted a free header, but the striker directed it just over the bar.
Villa could have added a second late on, but Sidwell missed an easy shot from 15 yards. Despite the number of chances Slavia had, Villa held on to make it six points in two matches to top Group F.
SLAVIA PRAGUE: Vaniak, Krajcik, Suchy, Brabec, Hubacek, Volesak, Tavares, Jarolim, Cerny, Necid, Smicer. Subs: Divis, Latka, Janda, Toleski, Senkerik, Svento, Belaid ASTON VILLA: Guzan, Davies, Cuellar, Shorey, Knight, Sidwell, Ashley Young, Salifou, Gardner, Agbonlahor, Carew. Subs: Friedel, Luke Young, Laursen, Barry, Delfouneso, Routledge, Reo-CokerReferee: Costas Kapitanis (Cyprus)

Bent Hat-Trick Zaps Zagreb

Darren Bent's hat-trick helped Tottenham Hotspur claim a crucial 4-0 Uefa Cup Group D victory over Dinamo Zagreb at White Hart Lane on Thursday night.
Spurs started off with their foot on the gas and seemed to keep it there for much of the match.
It was Bent who broke the deadlock in the 30th minute, blasting his effort towards goal off of Luka Modric's cross, catching a deflection on the way before bouncing off the underside of the crossbar and stretching the back of the net.
Just three minutes later Bent struck again, Tom Huddlestone received a cross before making a pin-point pass to Bent inside the area, and the striker slotted it into the bottom-right corner to double the lead.
Huddlestone then took his turn in the 59th minute. He waited outside the area for David Bentley's corner kick and on the half-volley he unleashed an absolute beast of a shot, hard and low into the bottom corner from 35 yards, to increase the cushion to three.
And on the 70-minute mark Bent completed his hat-trick after a great pass from Huddlestone cut between two defenders and put him through on goal. With minimal effort, Bent tucked it away from the right side of the area to seal the victory.
TOTTENHAM: Gomes, Hutton, Woodgate, Dawson, Bale, Bentley, Zokora, Huddlestone, Lennon, Modric, Bent. Subs: Cesar, Gilberto, Campbell, Dervite, Bostock, Assou-Ekotto, Gunter
DINAMO ZAGREB: Kelava, Ibanez, Hrgovic, Lovren, Balaban, Sammir, Mikic, Mandzukic, Vrdoljak, Biscan, Drpic. Subs: Loncaric, Etto, Tomic, Tadic, Carlos, Badelj, Morales
Referee: Fredy Fautrel (France)

Porto Hit Injury Time Winner

Porto erased a one goal halftime deficit on their way to a 2-1 win over Dynamo Kiev in UEFA Champions League action on Wednesday night. Lucho was the hero for Porto finishing his volley in the second minute of second half injury time.
Dynamo grabbed the early lead despite Porto creating the better chances when Artem Milevskiy cooly hit his side footed shot past Helton from 10 yards out.
The visitors leveled in the 69th minute off a Rolando header, setting up a dramatic finish.
Dynamo thought they had the opening to steal the full three points with the game coming to a close but their final service hit off the post setting up Porto’s counterattack. After holding off two Dynamo defenders, Lisandro sent a low cross that Lucho was able to make good on.
The win allowed Porto to jump over Dynamo and into second place on the Group G table on 6 points to Dynamo’s 5 points. They trail Arsenal who leads with 8 points.

Lyon Climb To Group Summit

Lyon took control of Group F with their 2-0 win over Steaua Bucharest in UEFA Champions League action on Wednesday night at the Stade de Gerland. The home side got a goal on each side of halftime with Juninho knocking in a superb free-kick and Anthony Réveillère adding a late strike to seal the victory.
Steaua arrived in France as a team in turmoil with new coach Dorinel Munteanu at the helm following the sacking of Marius Lăcătuş following the teams loss in the reverse fixutre. They showed well with their five man midfield but were eventually worn down by Lyon’s consistent pressure.
The pressure paid off in the 44th minute after Juninho was fouled by Tiago Gomes. The Brazilian stepped up to bury the ensuing free kick from 20 yards out.
Réveillère ended any chance of Steaua stealing a point with his 89th minute insurance goal.
Lyon is now tied on 8 points with Bayern Munich but are on top of the table and looking to finish the group on top. Steaua is on the bottom of the table with one point and the best they can hope for is a third place finish and UEFA Cup slot.

Aalborg Salvages 2-2 Draw with Villarreal

Aalborg BK erased two one goal deficits on the way to a 2-2 draw with Villarreal in UEFA Champions League action on Wednesday night at Aalborg Stadium. Anders Due secured the draw with his perfectly placed free kick in the 81st minute.
After allowing a hat trick from Joseba Llorente in the reverse fixture, Aalborg kept a tighter mark on him and tried to keep the pressure off their defense through their own attacking soccer. The tactic looked to be working for caretaker boss Allan Kuhn – who replaced coach Bruce Rioch after the heavy defeat at El Madrigal, as his side almost took the lead except for fine saves from Diego Lopez.
Villarreal finally broke through off Giuseppe Rossi’s tally in the 41st minute.
The home side leveled the game off a fine finish from Jeppe Curth in the 54th minute. After receving a fine back heel from Caca at the top of the box, Curth nailed a one time shot past a diving Diego.
The Red and White’s answered with their own beautiful goal. Second half substitute Franco controlled a lofted ball over the defense and volleyed past Zaza in the 75th minute.
Aalborg responded through Due’s great freekick in the 81st minute. Due’s left shot went over the wall and into the top right corner leaving Diego with nothing but effort in trying to make the save.

Bayern Level Late

After playing from behind for most of the match, Bayern Munich’s Tim Borowski knocked in an 78th minute leveler to see Bayern to a 1-1 draw to Fiorentina at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Wednesday night in the UEFA Champions League.
The home side took the early advantage when Adrian Mutu volleyed in in the 11th minute. The goal was a huge confidence builder for Fiorentina who has yet to win in Group F action.
The back and forth game saw each side with numerous chances throughout the match but they were either well saved or went wide of the mark.
Borowski finally broke in and sent his low shot into the back of the net in the 78th minute to steal a point form Italy.
With the point Bayern drop to second place in the group on 8 points but only need two points from their final two matches to advance to the elimination round. Fiorentina sits in third on three points and will need to win their remaining two matches and hope for some help from other results.