UEFA Cup Quarterfinals Set
The quarterfinals of the Soccer Betting UEFA Cup are set with first leg matches scheduled for Thursday, April 3rd. Rangers became one of the last teams to move into the quarterfinals as they lost to Werder Bremen 1-0 on Thursday but still advanced 2-1 on aggregate.
Sporting Lisbon also advanced on Thursday as they beat Bolton 1-0 and advanced 2-1 on aggregate. Rangers easily could have lost by more than a goal to the German squad but Bremen just couldn’t put away their chances. “One, two three goals, we had the chances, but we didn’t do it,” Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said. “The fact is we aren’t scoring those goals.” Daniel Jensen and Sebastian Boensisch missed wide while Hugo Almeida missed over the bar. Tim Borowski missed from short range as well. Late in the match Jensen and Boubacar Sanogo could not convert. The shots for the game were 35-4 in favor of Bremen. “This is massive for the club, Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor said, “Even at the start of the Champions League draw nobody expected us to get here. We’ve dug deep tonight and that’s what was needed.”
Sporting Lisbon advanced against Bolton when Bruno Pereirinha scored in the 85th minute. Sporting and Bolton played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Bolton rested several players as they are focusing on avoiding regulation in the Premier League. Manager Gary Megson rested players Jussi Jaaskelainen, Kevin Noland, El Hadji Diouf and Ivan Campo. Bolton takes on Wigan in the Premier League on Sunday in a key match.
On Wednesday, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Zenit St. Petersburg, PSV Eindhoven, Fiorentina and Getafe advanced. Bayern Munich lost 2-1 to Anderlecht but already had won the first leg 5-0 so the game was virtually meaningless. Leverkusen survived a 3-2 loss at Hamburger SV to go through on away goals. “We were lucky to advance today,” Leverkusen coach Michael Skibbe said. “This wasn’t completely deserved – but this is another sign of a young team’s steady development.” Zenit St. Petersburg beat Marseille 2-0 to advance. PSV defeated Tottenham in a penalty shootout to advance. Tottenham coach Juande Ramos was trying to win the UEFA Cup for the third straight season.
The Spurs trailed late 1-0 but Dimitar Berbatov scored in the 81st minute to tie it but PSV won the shootout. “It was a beautiful game but we sort of made it difficult for ourselves in the beginning,” PSV captain Timmy Simons said. Everton came back to get it even 2-2 on aggregate against Fiorentina with goals by Andrew Johnson and Mikel Arteta, but Aiyegbeni Yakubu missed in the shootout. “Sometimes you don’t get your just desserts,” Everton midfielder Phil Neville said. “We created enough chances to win two or three games.” Juan Angel Albin scored in the 78th minute to lead Getafe 1-0 over Benfica and 3-1 on aggregate. Getafe has looked like the main challenger to Bayern Munich in this year’s UEFA Cup and they will get their chance in the quarterfinals.
The quarterfinals have Rangers taking on Sporting, Bayern Munich vs. Getafe, Fiorentina vs PSV Eindhoven and Bayern Leverkusen vs. Zenit St. Petersburg.
