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UEFA Europa League group stage matches on Wednesday saw eight games played, where no surprises were recorded, and tickets to the round of 16 were secured by two teams from Group D - "Litex" and "AZ" - as well as two Eastern European clubs - Bukarest's "Steaua" and Moscow's "Lokomotiv" - who clinched dominant victories and rose to the top of their groups.
In Lovech, last season's Europa League semi-finalists Alkmaar's "AZ" needed just ten minutes to take the lead - goalkeeper Barry van Galen struck with a header after a pass from Danny Koevermans. In the middle of the second half, the hosts' hopes of at least a draw in this match were reduced as Robertas Popovas was sent off the field. The visitors sealed their victory at the end of the match through Moroccan Tarik Sektioui. Despite the loss, "Litex," led by Serbian Ljupko Petrović, who led Belgrade's "Red Star" to victory in the UEFA Cup in 1991, had something to celebrate - in the other group match, the Bulgarians managed to secure a 3-2 victory as guests against Zurich's "Grasshoppers," allowing them to progress.
1986 European champions Bukarest's "Steaua" crushed Tom Zvirgzdauskas' "Halmstads" 3-0 and advanced to the next stage. The Lithuanian played the full match for the visitors.
The only team in Group B that has already secured a spot in the next stage is Moscow's "Lokomotiv," who defeated Petah Tikva's "Maccabi" 4-0. The railwaymen scored a great goal from a penalty by goalkeeper Dmitry Loskov, two goals were scored by Igor Lebedenko in the space of one minute in the second half, and Italian Francesco Ruopolo added another goal at the end of the match. The hosts had a chance to soften the result, but Lokomotiv goalkeeper Alexey Poliakov saved Salim Toama's eleven-meter penalty.
In other Group B matches in Genoa, the game between local "Sampdoria" and Berlin's "Hertha" ended goalless, while Barcelona's "Espanyol" failed to take advantage of a great opportunity to progress - the Spaniards in Copenhagen did not hold on to their lead and had to settle for a 1-1 draw. "Brondby" Lithuanian Aurelijus Skarbalius was not registered for the match.
Two Toifilou Maoulida goals against Prague's "Slavia" allowed "Monaco" to almost secure a place in the next stage. Three teams finishing first in their groups and eight teams not reaching a further stage in the UEFA Champions League will also advance.
Wednesday's match results
Group A Prague "Slavia" 0 - 2 "Monaco" 11' [0 - 1] Toifilou Maoulida 71' [0 - 2] Toifilou Maoulida
Sofia's "CSKA" 2 - 0 Stavanger's "Viking" 35' [1 - 0] Hristo Yanev 47' [2 - 0] Guillaume Zadi
Group B "Brondby" 1 - 1 Barcelona's "Espanyol" 42' [0 - 1] Raul Tamudo 66' [1 - 1] Morten Skoubo Aurelijus Skarbalius ("Brondby") was not registered for the match.
Petah Tikva's "Maccabi" 0 - 4 Moscow's "Lokomotiv" 27' [0 - 1] Dmitri Loskov 47' [0 - 2] Igor Lebedenko 48' [0 - 3] Igor Lebedenko 52' [0 - 4] Francesco Ruopolo
Group C Genoa's "Sampdoria" 0 - 0 Berlin's "Hertha" Bukarest's "Steaua" 3 - 0 "Halmstad" 11' [1 - 0] Mirel Matei Radoi 63' [2 - 0] Nicolae Dorin Goian 71' [3 - 0] Victoras Iacob
Tom Zvirgzdauskas ("Halmstads") played the full match.
Group D Zurich's "Grasshoppers" 2 - 3 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 39' [0 - 1] Sergey Nazarenko 62' [0 - 2] Konstantin Kravchenko 83' [0 - 3] Dmitriy Michaylenko 85' [1 - 3] Demba Toure 90' [2 - 3] Michel Renggli Lovech's "Litex" 0 - 2 Alkmaar's "AZ" 10' [0 - 1] Barry van Galen 82' [0 - 2] Tarik Sektioui
