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On Thursday, matches in groups E, F, G, and H were played in the UEFA Cup. After them, seven more teams joined the five already in the sixteenth-finals - "Middlesbrough", "Partizan", "Villarreal", "Alkmaar", "Benfica", "Seville", and "Lille".
In Group E, there was no longer anything to fight for, as the top three places were already clear. This season, weakened by financial problems, "Lazio" failed to overcome "Egaleo" away and ended their appearance in the tournament. "Partizan" and "Villarreal" drew, securing a place in the sixteenth-finals based on the result of another match and allowing the leader, "Middlesbrough", to do the same.
The Dutch club "Alkmaar" continues to impress, this time narrowly defeating "Rangers" and securing their third victory out of three possible, thus ensuring a place in the next stage. "Auxerre" retained hope by crushing "Amica" at home.
To make it to the next stage, "Benfica" needed nine points, achieved by defeating "Beveren" away. Meanwhile, Zagreb's "Dinamo" and "Heerenveen" played a draw for third place.
"Lille" secured a place in the knockout stages by defeating the Spanish "Sevilla" at home after a thrilling and dramatic match against "AEK". As the match between "Aachen" and "Zenit" ended in a draw, they will now battle for the last remaining ticket to the sixteenth-finals.
Group E
"Egaleo" 2 - 2 "Lazio"
7' [1 - 0] Giannis Chloros
13' [1 - 1] Roberto Muzzi
36' [1 - 2] Roberto Muzzi
54' [2 - 2] Anestis Agritis
"Partizan" 1 - 1 "Villarreal"
17' [0 - 1] Santi Cazorla
66' [1 - 1] Ivan Tomic (11m.)
Group F
"Alkmaar" 1 - 0 "Rangers"
8' [1 - 0] Danny Landzaat
"Auxerre" 5 - 1 "Amica"
1' [1 - 0] Jean-Pascal Mignot
5' [2 - 0] Luigi Pieroni
17' [2 - 1] Pawel Kryszalowicz
24' [3 - 1] Luigi Pieroni
26' [4 - 1] Luigi Pieroni
56' [5 - 1] Bonaventure Kalou
47' Radoslaw Cierzniak ("Amica") sent off
Group G
"Dinamo Zagreb" 2 - 2 "Heerenveen"
15' [1 - 0] Ivan Bosnjak
57' [2 - 0] Danijel Pranjic
84' [2 - 1] Ugur Yildirim
89' [2 - 2] Klaas Jan Huntelaar (11m.)
"Beveren" 0 - 3 "Benfica"
5' [0 - 1] Simao Sabrosa
21' [0 - 2] Zlatko Zahovic
59' [0 - 3] Zlatko Zahovic
3' Boubacar Barry ("Beveren") sent off
Group H
"Sevilla" 3 - 2 "AEK"
10' [0 - 1] Nikos Lymberopoulos
19' [1 - 1] Julio Baptista
29' [2 - 1] Antonio Lopez
46' [2 - 2] Kostas Katsouranis
89' [3 - 2] Julio Baptista (11m.)
"Aachen" 2 - 2 "Zenit"
25' [1 - 0] Erik Meijer
38' [1 - 1] Vladislav Radimov (11m.)
76' [1 - 2] Aleksandr Gorshkov
90' [2 - 2] Stefan Blank (11m.)
90' Sergio Pinto ("Aachen") sent off
