UEFA Cup, third round second leg

Four Spanish teams qualified for the last sixteen of the UEFA cup for the first time ever. Results were as follows (first leg results in brackets):

Atlético de Madrid (3) 2 - Wolfsburg (2) 1

Atlético: Molina; Gaspar (Chamot), Gamarra, Santi, Gustavo, Paunovic, Bejbl (Hugo Leal), Baraja, Solari, Correa, Hasselbaink (Pilipauskas). 4-4-2.

With a one goal advantage in the away first leg, Atlético were never in trouble in the return match, although their performance was once again disappointing. Ranieri made three changes from the first leg, bringing in Gamarra for Toni, Paunovic for Aguilera and Correa for José Mari (suffering from gastro-enteritis). Wolfsburg had already given up the game for lost from the beginning, and players and their wives took a guided tour around Madrid rather than train on their arrival. Within three minutes of the start the match really was over, Hasselbaink once again being the first to react after Correa's shot was blocked. From that point on Atleti retired to their own half, and Wolfsburg came close to scoring on a couple of occasions before half time. With the game as good as won, Ranieri rested Hasselbaink and Bejbl at half time, giving a rare outing to Hugo Leal and Pilipaukas. Things went from bad to worse however, and ten minutes into the half Molina brought down Wuck in the penalty area, Akonnor scoring from the resulting penalty. Chamot came on for Gaspar to stabilise the defence, and five minutes from time with Wolfsburg pushing forward, Paunovic headed on a clearance from Molina for Correa to run on and beat Reitmaier for the winner.

Panathinaikos (2) 1 - Deportivo de La Coruña (4) 1

Deportivo: Songo'o; Manuel Pablo, Donato, Naybet, Romero; Mauro Silva, Flavio (Jaime); Víctor, Fernando (Fran), Djalminha (Manel); Makaay. 4-2-3-1.

Deportivo go through to the last 16 for the first time in their history with a valiant draw against Panathinaikos in the inferno of the Olympic stadium in Athens. The two goals advantage from the first leg gave them a cushion, although with away goals counting double in case of a draw a 2-0 victory by the Greek side would have given them victory. Irureta returned to his more defensive formation which he is using for away games with only one striker, and with Pauleta, Turu and Bassir injured, Makkay was the one and only choice. Panathinaikos came out right from the start, and only a magnificent performance by Deportivo keeper Songo'o kept the score all square. Naybet saved two balls on the goal line and Manuel Pablo stopped another before the Greeks finally broke through, Asanovic scoring from the penalty spot eleven minutes from time. The next ten minutes were heart stopping stuff before Deportivo broke away, and with Makaay's first chance of the game he lobbed keeper Halkias to level the scores in the last minute. Their suffering was over and they can now forget the competition for the next three months before the competition resumes in March.

Benfica (0) 1 - Celta (7) 1

Celta: Pinto; Coira, Cáceres, Sergio, Juanfran (Adriano); Mazinho, Celades; Karpin (Kaviedes), Tomás, Revivo; McCarthy (Jonathan). 4-2-3-1.

With an unassailable lead from the first leg, Celta manager Víctor Fernández used the match to give a game to players who normally watch from the sidelines. His eight changes from the first leg included reserve keeper Pinto, Coira, Tomás and Brazilian midfielder Mazinho, who is finally back after a long illness. Kaviedes, Adriano and Jonathan were also given an outing in the second half. First team regulars Dutruel, Djorovic, Makelele, Mostovoi, Gustavo López were all given a well earned rest. Benfica also rested key players, with Spaniards Chano and Tote playing in Jupp Heynckes side. In the end Benfica's honour was restored, although in fact the Celta players scored both the goals of the match, with McCarthy opening the scoring in the 19th minute from a magnificent pass from Mazinho, and Cáceres putting through his own goal ten minutes from time. Only 8,000 unhappy supporters turned up, one of the worst attendances ever in the Da Luz stadium.

Mallorca (1) 2 - Ajax (0) 0

Mallorca: Leo Franco; Olaizola, Nadal, Siviero, Miguel Soler; Lauren (Djokaj), Engonga, Chichi Soler, Carreras; Biagini (Ibagaza), Tristán (Quinteros). 4-4-2.

Mallorca carried on where they left off in the first leg, keeping another clean sheet against one of the most feared sides in Europe. This was not the Ajax team of old however, and with so many players transferred out in recent seasons (many of whom are now playing in Spain), their line up only contained a couple of recognisable names. Fernando Vázquez decided to keep Leo Franco in goal rather than the controversial Burgos, (he is currently serving an eleven match suspension in the league but was available in the UEFA competition), and kept Carreras in midfield in place of the injured Stankovic. Within three minutes Mallorca increased their lead, and once again it was Diego Tristán who made the difference, this time gliding past the Ajax defence to lay on a goal for Francisco Soler. The second goal came fifteen minutes from time, Biagini picking up a loose ball in the area to beat Grim at the second attempt. Mallorca owner and president Antonio Asensio is so pleased with the work of Vázquez that he is already trying to extend his contract to next season.