The UEFA Cup final in Istanbul on 20 May will be a Germany v Ukraine affair after Werder Bremen, Hamburger SV, FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Dynamo Kyiv set up two domestic last-four ties on 30 April and 7 May.

Dynamo meet Shakhtar
Only one of those four teams, Dynamo, did not win their quarter-final first leg a week ago but in the early kick-off they defeated visitors Paris Saint-Germain FC 3-0. Their opponents this time will be Shakhtar, who followed up a 2-0 home win against PSG’s Ligue 1 rivals Olympique de Marseille with a 2-1 victory in France. Dynamo, who knocked out FC Metalist Kharkiv in the Round of 16, are at home in the first leg against Shakhtar, with a first Ukrainian UEFA Cup finalist assured.

Bremen against Hamburg
Lining up against Shakhtar or Dynamo at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium will be a Bundesliga club. Bremen travelled to Udinese Calcio 3-1 up and although at half-time the tie was level, Werder came back to draw 3-3 and progress 6-4 overall. Hamburg were also defending a 3-1 lead at Manchester City FC and José Paolo Guerrero’s early goal proved crucial, as the English club came back to win 2-1 and fall just short. Martin Jol’s men will aim to follow the example of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who knocked out Bremen in the 1987/88 semi-finals, the first of three times Werder have fallen at that stage. Bremen will be at home in the opening leg before travelling to HSV seven days later, but whatever happens there will be a new name on the UEFA Cup in the final season before the launch of the replacement UEFA Europa League.

FC Shakhtar Donetsk will face compatriots FC Dynamo Kyiv in their first ever European semi-final after withstanding the best that Olympique de Marseille could throw at them at the Stade Véldodrome before running out 2-1 victors, winning 4-1 on aggregate following last week’s home triumph.

Familiar foes
At least one Ukrainian outfit is assured a place in this year’s showpiece game after the French challengers fell short in both their ties, with Ligue 1 leaders Marseille unable to produce the second-leg comeback they required. Shakhtar only once managed to raise their heads above the parapet in the first half, but that resulted in a goal for Fernandinho on the half-hour. Although Hatem Ben Arfa levelled before the break, the Ukrainian titleholders first held out and then sealed another win against their hosts with an added-time Luiz Adriano strike.

Cheyrou shot
Trailing at the halfway stage in the tie, Erik Gerets’s men had little choice but to harry their opponents from the off, and they began almost immediately with Mamadou Niang nearly getting his head to a Mathieu Valbuena free-kick. Shakhtar’s talented Brazilian forward quartet came with a burgeoning reputation, but all the invention was coming from the hosts in the early stages and fit-again midfielder Benoît Cheyrou stirred the vociferous crowd with a powerful strike just over the bar from 20 metres out.

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