Ajax              1 – 1                Fiorentina
Leonardo 88                      Gilardino 61

AFC Ajax substitute Leonardo came on to conjure an 88th-minute equaliser against ACF Fiorentina which sent the Dutch side through to a UEFA Cup Round of 16 meeting with Olympique de Marseille. Having taken a slender 1-0 lead into the game, Ajax trailed to Alberto Gilardino’s second-half strike and were facing extra time and penalties before Leonardo rifled home the decisive goal.

Frey busy
Needing to score to level the tie, Fiorentina were first to threaten when Gilardino forced an early save from Kenneth Vermeer with a shot from the middle of the box. Ajax responded with Luis Suárez’s strike from the right which Fiorentina keeper Sébastien Frey did well to parry. Frey was busy again when he kept out Jan Vertonghen’s effort following a free-kick from Urby Emanuelson, who then fired wide from the rebound. It remained evenly-matched after the break and Fiorentina had the best chance of the game to that point when Alessandro Gamberini headed on to a post from Franco Semioli’s corner in the 47th minute.

Leonardo Invents Winner For Ajax … read more »

Stuttgart            1 – 2            FC Zenit St. Petersburg
Gebhart 80                               Semshov 42, Fayzulin 86

UEFA Cup holders FC Zenit St. Petersburg made light of the absence of captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, with goals from Igor Semshov and Viktor Fayzulin giving them a second 2-1 win against VfB Stuttgart.

Substitute strikes
Semshov put Dick Advocaat’s side ahead in the 42nd minute, and while Timo Gebhart pulled one back for the Bundesliga club with ten minutes to go, substitute Fayzulin capped a measured performance to set up a Round of 16 tie with Udinese Calcio. The Russian team will play the second leg at home.

Counterattacking force
While Tymoshchuk’s suspension left Zenit without their inspirational captain, they proved to be dangerous on the counterattack, and home goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was forced to save from Konstantin Zyryanov’s left-footed strike after 13 minutes. Mario Gómez responded for Stuttgart, firing just over from Cacau’s pass.

Cool Zenit put Stuttgart to the sword … read more »

Valencia                        2 – 2                     Dynamo Kyiv
Marchena 45, Del Horno 54                   Kravets 34, 73

FC Dynamo Kyiv ended Spain’s interest in the UEFA Cup with Artem Kravets striking twice against Valencia CF to set up an all-Ukrainian Round of 16 tie against FC Metalist Kharkiv, with Yuri Semin’s side hosting the first leg.

Kravets crucial
After the teams drew 1-1 in snowy Kiev in the first game, Kravets put the visitors into a 34th-minute lead, and while goals from Carlos Marchena and Asier Del Horno swung the match back in the Spanish club’s favour, Kravets had the final say with his second strike settling matters.

Slow start
David Villa’s shot from just inside the area called Stanislav Bogush into action after two minutes, while Roman Eremenko had Dynamo’s only chance of a disappointing opening spell from the away side, drilling a right-footed effort wide from 20 metres after eleven minutes.

Kravets Comes Good For Dogged Dynamo … read more »

Man. City        2 – 1       København
Bellamy 73, 80               Vingaard 90+ 3

Craig Bellamy scored twice in the last 17 minutes to ensure Manchester City FC eased past FC København and earned a UEFA Cup Round of 16 tie against another Danish side, Aalborg BK.

Christiansen beaten
The home side, who would have gone through on away goals had the second leg finished scoreless, were not content to sit on that advantage but found FCK goalkeeper Jesper Christiansen tough to beat. Two goals in seven minutes from Bellamy, however, ensured Martin Vingaard’s late goal for the visitors was in vain. Fair Play entrants City will now face their third Superligaen opponents of the season in AaB, having previously beaten FC Midtjylland on penalties in the second qualifying round.

Bellamy Breaks København Resistance … read more »

MADRID – Two FIFA agents and several current and former football players with Spanish clubs are under investigation as part of a probe into cocaine trafficking, Spanish media reported Wednesday.

The operation, carried out in Madrid and the Mediterranean port of Valencia, led to the seizure Wednesday of 600 kilos (1,320 pounds) of cocaine hidden in shipping containers, the online edition of sports daily AS said, citing sources close to the investigation.

The reports did not name which footballers were under investigation but AS said some were from first division side Atletico Madrid as well as from second division side Rayo Vallecano and Poli Ejido which is in the third division.

Spain, with its historical and linguistic ties to South America, is Europe’s main entry point for cocaine from the continent, especially from Colombia, the world’s top producer of the drug.

Spanish customs agents seized 21.8 tonnes of cocaine in 2008, according to provisional figures, down from 25 tonnes in the previous year.

Over 8,000 people were jailed in Spain last year for cocaine trafficking.