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On Thursday, for the first time, the matches of the new format UEFA Cup group stage were played. 40 teams are divided into eight groups, and this time 16 pairs competed - in each group one of the teams did not play.
In group A, Rotterdam's "Feyenoord" crushed Edinburgh's "Hearts" with investments from V. Romanov, "Schalke" and "Basel" shared a point.
The matches ended with the same results in group B, where "Athletic Bilbao" and "Steaua" beat "Parma" and "Standard" clubs, respectively by those margins.
One of the biggest surprises of the day was presented by the "Dnipro" team, who managed to beat the "Brugge" team at home. In other C group matches, "Zaragoza" narrowly defeated "Utrecht".
Both victories in group D were won by the visitors - "Panionios" had to acknowledge the superiority of the "Newcastle" club, while Tbilisi's "Dinamo" lost to the "Sochaux" team.
In the away match of group E, "Middlesbrough" won a minimal victory against "Egaleo", while "Lazio" and "Villarreal" played a draw.
The most impressive victory of the tour was achieved by the "Rangers" team, which scored five goals without response against the "Amica" club in an away match. The meeting between "Auxerre" and "GAK" in group F ended peacefully.
The most productive matches were played in group G: the German championship leader "Stuttgart" won a crushing victory by four goals against "Beveren", while in the eventful match between "Benfica" and "Heerenveen", where six goals were scored, the hosts celebrated victory.
The UEFA Cup debutant "Aachen" from the second division of Germany provided a surprise in group H by defeating "Lille" with a minimal advantage at home. Meanwhile, Saint Petersburg's "Zenit" unexpectedly crushed the "AEK" team with three goals from A. Kerzhakov.
All results:
Group A "Feyenoord" 3 - 0 "Hearts" "Schalke" 1 - 1 "Basel"
Group B "Athletic Bilbao" 2 - 0 "Parma" "Steaua" 2 - 0 "Standard"
Group C "Dnipro" 3 - 2 "Brugge" "Zaragoza" 2 - 0 "Utrecht"
Group D "Dinamo Tbilisi" 0 - 2 "Sochaux" "Panionios" 0 - 1 "Newcastle"
Group E "Egaleo" 0 - 1 "Middlesbrough" "Lazio" 1 - 1 "Villarreal"
Group F "Amica" 0 - 5 "Rangers" "Auxerre" 0 - 0 "GAK"
Group G "Beveren" 1 - 5 "Stuttgart" "Benfica" 4 - 2 "Heerenveen"
Group H "Aachen" 1 - 0 "Lille" "Zenit" 5 - 1 "AEK"
