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UEFA Cup quarter-final matches started on Thursday. "Basel" took convincing wins and took a step towards the strongest quartet by defeating "Middlesbrough" at home, along with "Schalke" and "Sevilla" teams, who defeated "Levski" and "Zenit" teams after gaining a quantitative advantage. Meanwhile, the derby in the capital of Romania, Bucharest, ended in a draw.
In Sofia, the local "Levski", who had defeated everyone on their field this season, met with the Gelzenkirchen "Schalke" club, and in the 6th minute veteran Daniel Borimirow outsmarted Mladen Krstajic with a precise shot, defeating goalkeeper Frank Rost, it seemed that the hosts would continue their hundred percent series at home.
However, in the 35th minute, "Levski" legionnaire from France, Cedric Bardon, was sent off the field for a second yellow card, and the match slowly began to turn in favor of the visitors. Despite that, the only real chance to score in the first half belonged to "Schalke" forward Soren Larsen, but after a corner kick with his head, he hit the crossbar.
Nevertheless, in the third minute of the second half, the score became equal when after Lincoln's attempt to break through, the ball bounced to Gustavo Varela, who had only to score into empty net. Later, Valeri Domovchiyski failed to take advantage of the opportunity to restore "Levski's" lead, and for that, "Schalke" punished their opponents - in the 69th minute Lincoln curled the ball into the net from 20 meters.
Just ten minutes later, Gerald Asamoah scored with a header after Christian Poulsen's shot hit the crossbar, so "Schalke" celebrated an away win and, if Bulgarians do not provide a miracle in the return leg, they can almost prepare for the semi-final match.
Similar matches took place in Seville, where a kind of duel between Eastern and Western Europe occurred - "Sevilla" faced St. Petersburg "Zenit". The Spanish club, celebrating their 60th anniversary of victory in their country's championship, was led forward by a small Argentine forward Javier Saviola with a header.
Later, the same J. Saviola and defender Julien Escude missed opportunities to extend the lead, and at the end of the half "Zenit" leveled the score - Alexander Kerzhakov, who scored two goals in the teams' group stage match, also scored with a header.
However, the situation for the visitors significantly complicated at the beginning of the second half, as in the 53rd minute, Erik Hagen brought down Fredrik Kanoute in the penalty area and was sent off the field, with Jose Luis Marti converting the penalty from 11 meters.
However, the minimal victory was not enough for the Spaniards, and they continued to attack, taking advantage of the numerical superiority. Although F. Kanoute's shot was inaccurate in the 80th minute, Javier Saviola managed to break the opponent's defense again by scoring a third goal for his team with a shot after Antonio Puerta's pass.
At the end of the match, "Zenit" finally collapsed when Andrei Arshavin also received a red card, and playing against nine opponents, the hosts scored again - in the third minute of stoppage time, Brazilian Adriano Correia confirmed the crushing victory for "Sevilla". Lithuanian Robertas Poskus was registered for this match, but did not appear on the field.
The "Basel" club also won convincingly, defeating English "Middlesbrough" at home with a score of 2-0. Both goals were scored at the end of the first half - in the 43rd minute, a shot from a distance by Matias Delgado deflected off the ground and deceived goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, and just two minutes later, David Degen doubled the hosts' lead by bypassing the opponents' defenders.
In the second half, the initiative was taken by "Middlesbrough" trying to reduce the deficit, but "Basel" goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler blocked Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's shot, and Chris Riggott's header after a corner kick hit the crossbar. Later, on the other side of the field, M. Delgado's penalty kick shook the goal frame, C. Riggott cleared Scott Chipperfield's attempt from the goal line, and in the last dangerous attack of the guests, Ugo Ehiogu's shot was parried by P. Zuberbuhler.
The biggest intrigue remained in the pair of two Bucharest teams, as the first meeting of the teams ended in a 1-1 draw. Playing at home in the fifth minute, "Rapid" missed the goal - after Daniel Oprita's pass, "Steaua" player Banel Nicolita scored. After the break, Viorel Moldovan managed to equalize the score for "Rapid", but the hosts missed a goal at home and will have a tough task in the return leg next Thursday.
Results of the first quarter-final matches:
Sofia 1 - 3 Gelsenkirchen
6' [1 - 0] Daniel Borimirov
48' [1 - 1] Gustavo Varela
69' [1 - 2] Lincoln
79' [1 - 3] Gerald Asamoah
35' Cedric Bardon ("Levski") sent off the field
Bucharest "Rapid" 1 - 1 Bucharest "Steaua"
5' [0 - 1] Banel Nicolita
50' [1 - 1] Viorel Moldovan
Basel 2 - 0 Middlesbrough
43' [1 - 0] Matias Emilio Delgado
45' [2 - 0] Philipp Degen
Seville 4 - 1 St. Petersburg
15' [1 - 0] Javier Pedro Saviola
45' [1 - 1] Alexander Kerzhakov
56' [2 - 1] Jose Luis Marti (penalty)
80' [3 - 1] Javier Pedro Saviola
90' [4 - 1] Adriano Correia
53' Eric Hagen, 90' Andrey Arshavin (both "Zenit") sent off the field
