© EuroFootball.com
In the UEFA Cup tournament, group stage matches ended on Thursday - in the final round, the hosts performed much better, with only one team failing to secure a victory and settling for a draw. The last seven spots in the round of 16 were taken by the clubs "Monaco," "Hamburger," "Slavia," "Espanyol," "Palermo," "Lens," and "Hertha." The most interesting fourth round unfolded in Group C, where three teams realistically contended for the remaining two spots in the round of 16. The match between "Lens" and Genoa's "Sampdoria" in France was particularly dramatic. Although the hosts took the lead after Olivier Thormet's goal, Genoa's striker Francesco Flachi later equalized, satisfying the Italian team. However, as this tournament has shown time and time again, nothing can be decided until the final whistle of the referee - in the last minute of the match, Tunisian Issam Jemaa, who came in as a substitute, secured the victory and a ticket to the next stage for his team, eliminating the "Sampdoria" club. Meanwhile, in another match, Berlin's "Hertha" and Bucharest's "Steaua" settled for a draw - the Germans surpassed the "Sampdoria" team and took third place, while the Romanians secured their spot in the next stage by winning the group earlier, with "Lens" finishing second. The two teams advancing to the round of 16 were unclear in Group B, but the matches there unfolded without much intrigue. Barcelona's "Espanyol" secured second place at home after Mauricio Pochettino's goal in the 83rd minute, while "Palermo" clinched the top spot by achieving a convincing victory at home with a three-goal margin against "Brondby." Two goals among the winners were scored by Leandro Rinaudo, while Stephen Makinwa also scored once. The last, third ticket to the next stage from the group was claimed by Moscow's "Lokomotiv," which did not play in the final round. The fourth French club to reach the round of 16 from the groups was "Monaco," who defeated Sofia's "CSKA" at home. The hosts were led in front by Olivier Kapo, with Sebastien Squillacci later doubling the lead, while Petar Dimitrov scored a consolation goal for the visitors. In Group A, "Hamburger" secured second place by defeating Prague's "Slavia" team at home with a 2-0 result. In Group D, the battle was only for the first place - it was won by "Middlesbrough," who defeated Lovech's "Litex" at the end of the match. Two goals, one of which was a superb strike from 20 meters, were scored by English team's legionnaire from Italy, Massimo Maccarone. With the same points as "Middlesbrough," but by goal difference, the second place went to Alkmaar's "AZ," who won with a narrow margin against Zurich's "Grasshoppers." In addition to the 24 teams that advanced from the groups, eight teams that finished third in the Champions League groups will also participate in the round of 16. The round of 16 matches will take place on February 15-16 and 23. A Group "Monaco" 2 - 1 Sofia's "CSKA" 45` [1 - 0] Olivier Kapo 75` [2 - 0] Sebastien Squillacci 83` [2 - 1] Petar Dimitrov "Hamburger" 2 - 0 Prague's "Slavia" 9` [1 - 0] Sergej Barbarez 57` [2 - 0] Emile Mpenza 28` Matus Kozacik ("Slavia") sent off Standings: 1. "Monaco" 4 3 0 1 6-2 9 2. "Hamburger" 4 3 0 1 5-2 9 3. Prague's "Slavia" 4 1 1 2 6-8 4 4. Stavangero "Viking" 4 1 1 2 3-6 4 5. Sofia's "CSKA" 4 1 0 3 5-7 3 B Group Barcelona's "Espanyol" 1 - 0 P.Tikva's "Maccabi" 83` [1 - 0] Mauricio Pochettino 88` Shay David ("Maccabi") sent off "Palermo" 3 - 0 "Brondby" 26` [1 - 0] Stephen Makinwa 45` [2 - 0] Leandro Rinaudo 88` [3 - 0] Leandro Rinaudo 45` Thomas Rytter ("Brondby") sent off Standings: 1. "Palermo" 4 2 2 0 6-2 8 2. Barcelona's "Espanyol" 4 2 2 0 4-2 8 3. Moscow's "Lokomotiv" 4 2 1 1 8-3 7 4. "Brondby" 4 1 1 2 5-8 4 5. P.Tikva's "Maccabi" 4 0 0 4 1-9 0 C Group "Lens" 2 - 1 Genoa's "Sampdoria" 10` [1 - 0] Olivier Thomert 23` [1 - 1] Francesco Flachi 90` [2 - 1] Issam Jemaa Berlin's "Hertha" 0 - 0 Bucharest's "Steaua" Standings: 1. Bucharest's "Steaua" 4 2 2 0 7-0 8 2. "Lens" 4 2 1 1 7-5 7 3. Berlin's "Hertha" 4 1 3 0 1-0 6 4. Genoa's "Sampdoria" 4 1 2 1 4-3 5 5. "Halmstads" 4 0 0 4 1-12 0 D Group "Middlesbrough" 2 - 0 Lovech's "Litex" 80` [1 - 0] Massimo Maccarone 86` [2 - 0] Massimo Maccarone Alkmaar's "AZ" 1 - 0 Zurich's "Grasshoppers" 70` [1 - 0] Danny Koevermans Standings: 1. "Middlesbrough" 4 3 1 0 6-0 10 2. Alkmaar's "AZ" 4 3 1 0 5-1 10 3. Lovech's "Litex" 4 2 0 2 4-5 6 4. Dnipro's "Dnipro" 4 1 0 3 4-9 3 5. Zurich's "Grasshoppers" 4 0 0 4 3-7 0 Advancing to the round of 16: Group winners: "Monaco" (France), "Palermo" (Italy), Bucharest's "Steaua" (Romania), "Middlesbrough" (England), "Strasbourg" (France), "Marseille" (France), Bucharest's "Rapid" (Romania), "Sevilla" (Spain). Second-place teams: "Hamburger" (Germany), "Espanyol" (Spain), "Lens" (France), Alkmaar's "AZ" (Netherlands), "Roma" (Italy), Sofia's "Levski" (Bulgaria), Donetsk's "Shakhtar" (Ukraine), St. Petersburg's "Zenit" (Russia). Third-place teams: Prague's "Slavia" (Czech Republic), Moscow's "Lokomotiv" (Russia), Berlin's "Hertha" (Germany), Lovech's "Litex" (Bulgaria), "Basel" (Switzerland), "Heerenveen" (Netherlands), "Stuttgart" (Germany), "Bolton" (England). Teams eliminated from the Champions League: "Brugge" (Belgium), "Thun" (Switzerland), "Udinese" (Italy), "Lille" (France), Gelsenkirchen's "Schalke" (Germany), Trondheim's "Rosenborg" (Norway), Seville's "Betis" (Spain), Bratislava's "Artmedia" (Slovakia).
