Join Now  | 
Home About Contact Us Privacy & Security Advertise
Soccer America Daily Special Edition Around The Net Soccer Business Insider College Soccer Reporter Youth Soccer Reporter Soccer on TV Soccer America Classifieds
Paul Gardner: SoccerTalk Soccer America Confidential Youth Soccer Insider World Cup Watch
RSS Feeds Archives Manage Subscriptions Subscribe
Order Current Issue Subscribe Manage My Subscription Renew My Subscription Gift Subscription
My Account Join Now
Tournament Calendar Camps & Academies Soccer Glossary Classifieds
English Clubs Leave it Late in Europa League
Guardian, February 22nd, 2013 1:28PM
Subscribe to Section 2 Around the Net


MOST READ
TAGS:  england, europa league, france, italy, russia


Chelsea and Tottenham each needed last-minute goals to see of Sparta Prague and Olympique Lyon, respectively, while Luis Suarez inspired a harrowing but ultimately unsuccessful Liverpool comeback against Zenit St. Petersburg in the Europa League Round of 32 on Thursday.

A fantastic Mousa Dembele strike in the 90th minute rescued a 1-1 draw for Spurs in Lyon, enough to secure a 3-2 aggregate win. The London club’s next opponent will be Serie A giant Inte, which swept aside CFR Cluj with a 5-0 victory over two legs.  After the game, Tottenham coach Andre Villas-Boas asserted that going through against Lyon and Inter “puts you in a good place to win the competition."

Meanwhile, at Stamford Bridge, striker Fernando Torres squandered at least half a dozen chances to bring Chelsea back into its second-leg match, where Sparta Prague was leading 1-0. In the end, it took a 92nd minute thunderbolt from substitute Eden Hazard to secure the series for the European champion. "I think we can be talking about Fernando not scoring goals because he has four chances, but I will look at the positive - he had four good chances," Chelsea’s interim coach Rafael Benitez said after the 2-1 aggregate win.

Finally, Liverpool won 3-1 on the night but lost its Europa League series with Zenit, 3-3, thanks to the away goals rule. Suarez scored from two fantastic free-kicks to bring the Reds close to overcoming what was at one stage a 3-0 deficit, but ultimately, Hulk’s opener at Anfield -- a gift from Liverpool centerback Jaime Carragher-- proved to be the difference. Nevertheless, Coach Brendan Rodgers hailed his team’s “phenomenal” performance.

Read the original story...


No comments yet.

Sign in to leave a comment. Don't have an account? Join Now


AUTHORS

ARCHIVES
FOLLOW SOCCERAMERICA

Recent Section 2 Around the Net
Confusion Reigns Over Neymar's Price     
According to reports in Spain, the going rate for Barcelona target Neymar has suddenly jumped: Marca ...
UCL Spots Up for Grabs This Weekend    
Arsenal and Tottenham aren't the only two teams fighting for the final UEFA Champions League berth ...
Ferguson: 'I Pressured Referees'    
Ahead of his final game in charge of Manchester United this weekend, Alex Ferguson admits that ...
Media Reacts to Beckham's Retirement    
Global media have spent the last 24 hours eulogizing (and in some cases, criticizing) David Beckham's ...
Kidd to Stay on Despite City Exodus    
Brian Kidd, Manchester City's caretaker manager for the remainder of the season, said that the firing ...
Falcao to Monaco '90 Percent Certain'    
Radamel Falcao, the sought-after Atletico Madrid striker who has long been at the top of Chelsea ...
Copa Lib: Riquelme Golazo Fires Boca to Quarterfinals    
A breathtaking goal from veteran Juan Roman Riquelme proved to be the difference as Boca Juniors ...
Benitez Gets His Trophy, Lampard Gets His Contract    
In the end, Chelsea interim coach Rafael Benitez finally received some recognition from the club's supporters, ...
Beckham Announces Retirement    
Former Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham announced on Thursday that this season would be his ...
Malaga to Release City Target Pellegrini     
Malaga on Tuesday confirmed that Manuel Pellegrini is free to leave the Spanish club this summer. ...
>> Section 2 Around the Net Archives