© EuroFootball.com
UEFA Cup was won by the Moscow team "CSKA" with Lithuanian Deividas Šemberas - "CSKA" defeated Lisbon's "Sporting" club after a particularly fierce and intense battle, supported by a crowd of thousands of fans at home.
1 - 3 29' [1 - 0] Rogerio 56' [1 - 1] Aleksei Berezoutski 65' [1 - 2] Yury Zhirkov 75' [1 - 3] Vagner Love
At the beginning of the match, the hosts were more active, constantly pressing their opponents and trying to score from a distance. In the 29th minute, they finally succeeded - receiving the ball near the penalty area, Rogerio sent it into the upper corner of the goal with a powerful shot, leaving goalkeeper I. Akinfeev without hope.
Nevertheless, before the break, "CSKA" almost equalized the score, as V. Love received a pass from I. Olić and found himself alone in front of the goal but failed to score accurately and missed a great opportunity to silence the "Sporting" fans.
The second half started like the first, with "Sporting" controlling the game again, but in the 56th minute, they suffered a painful blow - after a Carvalho penalty shot, A. Berezoutski headed the ball into the net, leveling the score.
The hosts did not expect such a turn of events, while "CSKA" gained confidence and in the 65th minute, after receiving a good pass from Carvalho, Y. Zhirkov beat the Portuguese team's goalkeeper Ricardo - Moscow's team surged ahead.
Ten minutes later, luck turned against the "Sporting" team - after deflecting a shot, Tello made a pass towards the goal, but standing almost on the goal line, Rogerio somehow managed to direct the ball to Akinfeev who was standing near the other post.
CSKA defended and soon secured victory on the counterattack: Carvalho ran down the left side, passed the ball to V. Love in the middle, Ricardo failed to reach this pass, and the Brazilian legionnaire of the "army team" scored into an empty net.
With a convincing lead for the Muscovites, 82 minutes into the game, D. Šemberas was sent onto the field by V. Gazzaev. In the remaining time, "CSKA" withstood the pressure from the opponents and shattered the hopes of Lisbon's fans, achieving a historic victory, which is the first triumph of a Russian club in the UEFA Cup tournament.
