Intertoto cup, semi-final, second leg

There will be a second all-Spanish final in three years after Villarreal and Atlético Madrid both won through their respective semi-finals. Villarreal had the hardest task, defending a slim one goal lead against Hamburg, but they controlled the game throughout and ended up winning 0-1, José Marí getting the only goal of the game twenty minutes from the end. Atlético were already close to qualifying after their first leg away victory against OFK Belgrade, but after almost throwing away a similar lead the round before they were taking no chances. Fernando Torres put them ahead in the ninth minute and Aguilera added a second soon after the restart to tie up a 2-0 win.

For Villarreal this is their third final in a row, losing that first all-Spanish clash to Málaga but beating Heerenveen last season to go on to reach the semi-final of the UEFA cup in their first ever appearance in Europe. Atlético are competing in the competition for the first time, but have a long history in European competitions, winning the Cupwinners' cup in 1962, the Intercontinental cup in 1974 and finishing runners-up in the European cup in 1974 and the Cupwinners' cup in 1963 and 1986. (04.08.04)

News archive