Champions League Qualifiers Roundup
It was a day of shocks and near shocks as Spanish side Sevilla was dumped out of the Champions League qualifiers by Portuguese side Braga. It capped off a miserable week for the Spaniards who were earlier defeated by a Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona side in the Super Cup.
However, this defeat would have impacted on them more heavily as they miss out on the lucrative Champion’s League group stages. They cannot blame anyone else though. The Spanish side were already behind on aggregate as Braga held a 1-0 lead following the first leg. And they began the second leg in emphatic fashion completely annihilating Sevilla. Matheus scored the first goal in the 31st minute of the game. Lima doubled the lead for the Portuguese side by scoring another in the 58th minute. This meant Braga were already 3-0 up on aggregate with Sevilla having a mountain to climb with only half an hour left in the fixture.
Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano pulled a goal back in the 60th minute of the match. Sevilla poured forward in order to make one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Jesus Navas scored Sevilla's second goal in the 84th minute of the match and anything seemed possible.
However, it was not meant to be. Lima scored their second goal and followed it up by a third one which deflated a rejuvenated Sevilla side. Malian Frederic Kanoute scored a consolatory third in stoppage side but it was too late for the Spanish side. They lost the second leg 4-3 and the tie 5-3 on aggregate. The result meant that while the Portuguese move into the Champions League proper, Sevilla will have to contend for a place in the Europa League.
In another match on the night, a possible shock was on the cards before Werder Bremen regained their composure to advance to the Champion’s League group stages with a win over Italian side Sampdoria. Sampdoria were already 3-1 down from the first leg and had a mountain to climb in the second leg. However, they did their best to make an exciting game of it. Giampaolo Pazzini scored the first goal for the Italians who quickly added a second goal inside the first 13 minutes to rock the German side. Bad boy Antonio Cassano then added a third as the Italians raced to an improbable 3-0 lead. They looked set for a win before a late goal by Markus Rosenberg in injury time broke the Italian hearts, taking the game into extra time. Former Chelsea hit man Claudio Pizarro scored in extra-time to take the relieved Germans into the lucrative Champions League.
In other fixtures, Partizan Belgradee won against Anderlecht in a dramatic penalty shootout with a 3-2 score line. Scores were tied at 2-2 at the end of regular time and penalties were required to separate the two sides. Partizan took a quick-fire lead through two goals from Cleo but the Serbian side was pegged back by the Belgians. Rising star Romelu Lukaku and Guillaume Gillet scored goals to equalize for the away team. However, their effort was in vain as the side from Belgium suffered heartbreak during the penalty shootout.
Swiss side Basle completed a comfortable 3-0 win over Moldavian side FC Sheriff. This resulted in a 4-0 aggregate win for the Swiss. Marco Streller was on the score sheet along with striker Alexander Frei who netted two goals in the closing six minutes to complete a win which takes them into the elite competition.
Finally, Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv finished a 4-3 aggregate win over Austrian side Salzburg. This was achieved through a 92nd minute equalizer by Erin Zahavi to cancel out an own goal by Douglas da Silva. The resulting second leg ended at 1-1, giving the Israeli side a won over Salzburg.
For the winners, it may seem like the hard part is over. But with the prospect of the best club sides in Europe to come after this, it would seem as if the hard part has only begun.
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