MMB

Yes, Besiktas is a good team, they're not a fluke. Their current leader spot in Turkey proves that!

Ilie remains a far underestimated, but wonderful attacker. And he might be extra motivated against his ex-team!

PastyHusty

Indeed Newcastle do have an early kick-off. They started almost 35 minutes ago and are currently being held 0-0.

Spartak Moscow .v. Mallorca is another early kick-off and also currently at 0-0.

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Newcastle ended up drawing that match 1-1, not a great result but they got an away goal.

MMB

That's indeed not convincing, but it should prove enough. They still have their home game to settle things right and the away goal is usualy vital although Newcastle should be able to make the difference bigger at home in the 2nd leg match.

ForeverInLoveWithJus

The Valencia and Besiktas is living up to its name, drawing 2-2.

MMB

UEFA Cup 1/16 Finals (1st Leg) Results:

Auxerre - Panathinaikos: 0-0
Brondby - Barcelona: 0-1
Club Brugge - Debrecen: 1-0
Galatasary - Villarreal: 2-2
Gaziantepspor - Roma: 1-0
Groclin Dyskobolia - Bordeaux: 0-1
Marseille - Dnipro: 1-0
Parma - Genclerbirligi: 0-1
Perugia - PSV Eindhoven: 0-0
Sochaux - Inter Milan: 2-2
Spartak Moscow - Mallorca: 0-3
Valerenga - Newcastle United: 1-1

ForeverInLoveWithJus

What Happened there?

MMB

Well, Roma was far from being at full strength.

Totti and Cassano were given rest and did not make the trip. Pelizzoli and Candela were injured. Samuel and Emerson started on the bench. Capello clearly wanted to save some of his players with the eye on the Serie A title race. Roma was able to reduce the deficit to only one goal, so they shouldn't have a lot of problems next week in Rome to beat Gaziantepspor. They'll surely be at full strength then next week.

PastyHusty

Liverpool weren't that impressive from what I saw of them tonight, but they still managed to open up a two goal advantage and keep Sofia from getting an away goal. Gerrard and Kewell scored the goal, both within three minutes of each other midway through the second half.

Celtic had few problems beating Teplice 3-0. They should be able to progress to the next round.

MMB

UEFA Cup 1/16 Finals (1st Leg) Results:

Auxerre - Panathinaikos: 0-0
Benfica - Rosenborg: 1-0
Brondby - Barcelona: 0-1
Celtic - FK Teplice: 3-0
Club Brugge - Debrecen: 1-0
Galatasary - Villarreal: 2-2
Gaziantepspor - Roma: 1-0
Groclin Dyskobolia - Bordeaux: 0-1
Liverpool - Levski Sofia: 2-0
Marseille - Dnipro: 1-0
Parma - Genclerbirligi: 0-1
Perugia - PSV Eindhoven: 0-0
Sochaux - Inter Milan: 2-2
Spartak Moscow - Mallorca: 0-3
Valencia - Besiktas: 3-2
Valerenga - Newcastle United: 1-1


Brondby - Barcelona: 0-1
A good and deserved result for Barcelona, who continues their good form, also in Europe now. Barcelona was missing the injured Kluivert and Edgar Davids, who's ruled out of European football for the rest of the season. Ronaldinho stole the show and scored the only goal in the 63th minute. First he was fouled on the edge of the penalty area. He took the freekick himself, but he saw the shot hitting the crossbar. That didn't make Ronaldinho dispair, as he pounced on his own attempt, controlled the ball in fantastic fashion, just before scoring the 0-1 on his own rebound. A great goal! Barcelona clearly controlled the rest of the game without breaking too much sweat. The return next week in Nou Camp looks to be a walk in the park for Rijkaard's men, eventhough they scored just once.


Club Brugge - Debrecen: 1-0
A deserved win for Brugge, but a risky one. '1-0' is good cause Brugge avoided that dreadful away goal, but '1-0' isn't enough and certainly not against a team like Debrecen. Debrecen got a few opportunities on the counter-attack and it got rather hot (despite the freezing cold) a few times in front of Verlinden's goal, but to no avail.
Rune Lange scored Brugge's only goal in the 40th minute. Brugge dominated but didn't create that many chances. It was a very difficult field to play on, certainly for the team who tried to advance through combination football. The few chances they did create, they mostly failed to finish, except on that one situation leading to Lange's goal. A deserved win for Brugge but this one is far from over!


Gaziantepspor - Roma: 1-0
Roma was far from being at full strength. Totti and Cassano were given rest and did not make the trip. Pelizzoli and Candela were injured. Samuel and Emerson started on the bench. Capello clearly wanted to save some of his players with the eye on the Serie A title race. Roma was able to reduce the deficit to only one goal, so they shouldn't have a lot of problems next week in Rome to beat Gaziantepspor. They'll surely be at full strength then next week.


Marseille - Dnipro: 1-0
Who else than Drogba to make the difference for Marseille?


Parma - Genclerbirligi: 0-1
Parma was surprised by Turkish team Genclerbirligi. Ex-Genk (Belgium- player Josip Skoko scored the only goal. Another deficit for the young players of Parma, who are alrady going through such a difficult season due to the huge financial problems ... the end of their European adventure now looks possible.


Sochaux - Inter Milan: 2-2
Two attacking sides, who shared the points. The draw's clearly to Inter's advance as they scored two away goals. They shouldn't have many problems to make the difference at home next week. Frau scored both Sochaux goals, while Vieri and Recoba scored on Inter side.


Valencia - Besiktas: 3-2
A spectacular match won by Valencia. Both teams went for the three points and made the fans enjoy a good match of football. Navarro's powerful header decided the game in the 94th minute, 3-2! Pancu was the big man on Besiktas side, scoring both goals and giving his team an excellent away result. Valencia could have it difficult next week in Turkey. Besiktas' home stadium is known to be a pool of hellfire and brimstone when the situation calls upon!