Friday March 16, 2007 10:30
Uefa Cup Review Sevilla Through
Posted by The Soccer Blogger as Uefa Cup
The current Uefa Cup holders, Spanish side Sevilla, edged into the quarter-finals in a dramatic 3-2 win last night against Shakhtar Donetsk in extra-time.
It was a truly remarkable game. The unlikely player to send the tie into extra time was the Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop and Javier Chevanton scored the vital winning goal on 105 minutes.
The first game in Spain ended in a 2-2 draw and the Spanish side were facing a bit of an up hill struggle to continue the defence of their crown by making it through to the last eight.
Shakhtar struck the post late in the first half before they took the lead four minutes into the second half.
However, only just four minutes later Sevilla were level with a goal scored in similar fashion.
But Shakhtar only regained the lead again on 83 minutes when Matuzalem turned provider for Elano to finish clinically. Before that Shakhtar had actually hit the post again!
Understandably, Sevilla were now throwing everyone and everything forward in search of the necessary equaliser, and it was the goalkeeper who proved be to the unlikely hero when he headed home Alves’ corner four minutes into injury-time.
But there was more drama to follow as Sevilla then grabbed the winning goal at the end of the first period of extra-time as Chevanton accepted a pass from Luis Fabiano to send the holders through 5-4 on aggregate. Quite a game and the holders are through to the last eight again.
The Soccer Blogger