Atlético de Madrid
2 - Lens 2
Atlético:
Molina; Santi, Ayala, Gamarra, Capdevila (Toni 85'); Aguilera, Bjebl (Baraja
36'), Hugo Leal, Valerón; Hasselbaink, Kiko. 4-4-2.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was
once again (copy, paste) the saviour of Atlético Madrid, his two goals
just keeping his side in the competition. It was a sad Atlético team
that came out tonight, with the court case and the doubts about the future of
key players weighing heavier every day. Things are only going to get worse
however after unsettled manager Claudio Ranieri was forced to resign a couple
of days after the match by legal administrator and acting managing director
Luis Rubí. Lens took the lead on the quarter hour through ex Everton
forward Oliver Dacourt, but Jimmy equalised eight minutes later with a low free
kick which beat keeper Warmuz. Thirteen minutes from the end Dacourt put the
French back in front with a well executed chip which left Molina stranded, but
again Hasselbaink responded a minute later with a diving header from a cross by
Aguilera. Radomir Antic, who watched the match from the stands, will once again
be in charge of the team for the rest of the season, and realistically needs a
victory in France to pull this one out of the fire. Maybe it would be better to
concentrate on saving them from relegation, although a good cup run may help
boost moral, which is currently sharing the boot locker with the players'
footwear.
Arsenal 5 - Deportivo de
La Coruña 1
Deportivo: Songo'o;
Manuel Pablo, Donato, Naybet, Romero; Mauro Silva, Jokanovic (Víctor
52'), Flavio; Djalminha, Turu Flores (Fernando 68'); Makaay (Pauleta 73').
4-3-2-1.
Deportivo can now
concentrate on the league championship after their worst ever defeat in Europe
at the hands of Arsenal. In a change of tactics from their league formation,
Irureta left club captain Fran and Víctor on the bench, bringing in
Jokanovic in a line of three in front of the back four, and Turu Flores behind
Makaay up front. The game centred around the performance of Djalminha however,
the controversial Brazilian putting his team back in the game with a penalty in
the second half after Ljungberg had fouled Flavio, and then getting sent off
for a silly push on Grimandi five minutes later. Although Grimandi made a meal
of the incident, Djalminha's lack of composure in similar situations has cost
him dearly over the years, and in this case left his side with ten men at a key
stage in the game. Arsenal led 2-0 at half time with a headed goal from Dixon
and another from Henri after Overmars had left Romero for dead. With Djalminha
off the park, Henri headed his second from Petit's free kick, and then Kanu
added the fourth after a simple dummy which left Songo'o rolling on the ground.
Wenger opted to take off Bergkamp, but decided to leave the change for a minute
to let the Dutch forward take a free kick from just outside the area. It turned
out to be an inspired move, as Bergkamp's shot took a deflection off the
defensive wall and sped past the Deportivo keeper. The 1,500 Coruña
supporters had an unhappy journey home, although most of them didn't have to go
far: over one thousand live in and around London, with two supporters clubs,
Super Depor and the Peña Deportista Londinense both based in the capital
city. . .
Juventus 1 - Celta 0
Celta: Pinto; Celades,
Sergio, Cáceres, Juanfran; Makelele, Karpin, Gustavo López,
Mostovoi, Revivo (Tomas 79'); McCarthy. 4-2-3-1.
Celta came out of their
match at the Delle Alpi stadium with pride but little else after failing to
score against Juventus. Only 10,000 people turned up for the game on a cold
night, with the UEFA competition seen by supporters of the big clubs as a
second rate championship. Víctor Fernández had most of his first
choice players available, with the versatile Celades coming in at right back
for the injured Velasco. Only the Juventus Dutch keeper Van der Sar kept the
Gallicians at bay, saving from Mostovoi twice in the first half, and Revivo in
the second amongst others. The only goal came from ex Real Sociedad striker
Kovacevic, heading in Del Piero's free kick four minutes into the second half.
Both Del Piero and Mostovoi hit the post from free kicks in the second half,
Makelele failing to follow up on Mostovoi's kick with the goal at his mercy.
They come back to Vigo next week, but the lack of an away goal could cost them
the tie...
Mallorca 4 - Monaco
1
Mallorca: Leo Franco;
Olaizola (Armando 84'), Nadal, Siviero, Miguel Soler; Lauren (Djokaj), Engonga,
Chichi Soler, Stankovic; Carlos (Ibagaza 72'), Tristán. 4-4-2.
Having eliminated Ajax in
the last round, Mallorca went on to leave Monaco groggy and virtually wrap up
the tie with a 4-1 victory with a hat-trick from Stankovic. Fernando
Vázquez has finally got virtually all of his first choice squad back
from the medical centres and playing fields of Europe, and they are starting to
roll again. They went behind early on however after Simone converted a cross
from Gallardo in the second minute. Barthez saved twice from Stankovic before
the Yugoslavian midfielder finally beat the French keeper from a free kick just
before half time. Seven minutes into the second half Stankovic got his second
from the penalty spot after Djetou brought down Carlos. Monaco's Márquez
was sent off for a second bookable offence a couple of minutes later, and with
ten men the visitors could do nothing as Italian referee Pier Luigi Collina
awarded a second penalty for another foul on Carlos, this time by Barthez.
Stankovic made it three, and Diego Tristán rounded things off with a
goal from Lauren's cross in injury time. If they do go through next week, they
will probably meet Galatasaray in the quarter finals the week after. They
surprised Borussia Dortmund 0-2 in the first leg. |