Translated material
They're already waiting in Bremen
Werder almost secured passage to the next round
While Spartak was fighting with Celta in Luzhniki, the next opponent of the winner of this confrontation in the 1/8 finals of the UEFA Cup practically became known. It will most likely be the German Werder, which defeated the famous Ajax - 3:0. Now even the Dutch themselves do not believe that such a handicap can be won back in a week in Amsterdam.Despite the fact that Werder scored all three goals after the break, Ajax's troubles began in the first half - already in the 24th minute Olaf Lindenberg was ejected from the field for a second yellow card. Ajax held on for another 24 minutes with ten men, but then fell apart. Two corners by Thorsten Frings resulted in goals against the Dutch club. Frings had already sent the third ball there himself - 3:0. At the same time, Ajax got off lightly. Until the end of the match, the Bremen team managed to hit the post and crossbar, but it did not come to a shameful defeat.
CSKA's possible opponent in the next round is determined in the pair Livorno - Espanyol. If the army team overcomes the Israeli barrier, then there is a high probability that they will meet with the Spanish club, which has created a very good foundation for itself before the home match with Livorno. The Italians, in turn, could not take full advantage of their field factor. The Armando Picchi stadium does not comply with the new tightened security measures introduced in Italy, and Livorno had to play without spectators. So, as the referee of the match, Stefan Lannoy, awarded a penalty against their team, the Tiffozi could only watch on a huge television screen hung outside the arena gates. The captain and top scorer of the Italians, Cristiano Lucarelli, who Zenit wanted to acquire not so long ago, broke the rules at this point. The Livorno goal was defended by another hero of the transfer rumors of the Russian off-season. The failed Spartak player Marco Amelia took the ball out of the net for the second time already in the second half. But a timid hope for a successful outcome in the two-round confrontation between Livorno was given by Galante’s goal eight minutes before the final whistle.
PSG can feel quite confident before the return match with AEK. Even though things are not going well for the Parisians in the national championship (more than a modest 16th place in the standings), Paris Saint-Germain is trying to keep its mark in the European arena. Especially when we are talking about meetings with the Greeks, and the Parisians not only never lost to the clubs of this country, but also never missed them. According to tradition, the meeting in Athens also ended, where PSG celebrated another victory - 2:0.
The most colorful match was between Bayer and Blackburn. The Germans could well have counted on a significant victory at home, but everything was spoiled by a magnificent strike by Shabani Nonda three minutes before the end of the match. Now, with only one goal in hand, the British can calmly prepare for the return match. In the last minutes the fate of the Benfica - Dynamo and Shakhtar - Nancy matches was decided. Italian legionnaire Miccoli brought victory to the Portuguese club in stoppage time. But the French, visiting the Ukrainian Pitmen, managed not only to earn an advantage in the last minutes (Fortun opened the scoring in the 81st minute), but also to lose it - Shakhtar was saved from defeat by the Croatian Darijo Srna, who completed a multi-play combination. True, then the Donetsk club again had reason to be upset - Anatoly Tymoshchuk received a second yellow card. So the Shakhtar captain will miss the return match with Nancy.
1/16 UEFA Cup. First matches . Bayer Leverkusen - Blackburn - 3:2, Hapoel (Tel Aviv) - Rangers - 2:1, Livorno - Espanyol - 1:2, Fenerbahce -- AZ -- 3:3, Werder -- Ajax -- 3:0, CSKA -- Maccabi (Haifa) -- 0:0, AEK -- PSG -- 0:2, “Benfica” – “Dynamo” (Bucharest) – 1:0, “Shakhtar” – “Nancy” – 1:1, “Bordeaux” – “Osasuna” – 0:0.