Fulham Europa Fall at Craven Cottage

Fulham FC seemed all set for the UEFA Europa League round of 32 until Djiby Fall's last-gasp header for the already eliminated Odense BK also ended the 2010 finalists' campaign.

Teenager Kerim Frei had made one for Clint Dempsey before scoring his first senior goal to put Fulham in seeming total control at the break. But Hans Henrik Andreasen pulled one back for OB midway through the second half and Fall's leveller allowed Wisła Kraków to snatch Group K second place with a 2-1 defeat of FC Twente.

Home goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was ruled out with a spinal injury hours before kick-off giving Neil Etheridge a club debut in a much-changed lineup that took time to settle. Once they did, Chris Baird forced a diving save from Stefan Wessels while Bernard Mendy made a superb tackle to deny Bobby Zamora.

Now Fulham were rampant and Brede Hangeland rose to meet a corner which Wessels and Bashkim Kadrii combined to stop. With Wisła ahead, Fulham needed a goal themselves and got one on 27 minutes, Frei sprinting down the left and crossing low, Zamora touching back and Dempsey rolling a low shot past Wessels. Four minutes later it was 2-0 as Frei turned in Moussa Dembélé's centre after another flowing move.

Ruud made Etheridge work early in the second half with an angled shot but the goalkeeper was caught out on 64 minutes by a low Andreasen free-kick into the bottom corner. Suddenly OB sensed a chance and there was a real tense feel to Fulham's play as they retreated into their own half.

However, it seemed the 2010 finalists were holding on and might even score themselves when Ruud broke down the right and put in a cross for substitute Fall to head the equaliser, the very last touch of both OB and Fulham's campaign.

UEFA Rule in Celtic Favour

Celtic will not be expelled from the Europa League, even if play-off opponents Sion are reinstated in the competition.

Uefa will contact the clubs in Group I next week to outline provisional plans should the Swiss side be successful in their appeal against expulsion.

But the removal of the Glasgow side will not be considered as an option.

A five-team group, with Sion added to the line-up, appears to be the more likely outcome.

The Swiss Cup champions defeated Celtic 3-1 on aggregate when they met in August but were judged by Uefa to have fielded ineligible players.

This is obviously detrimental to the smooth running of the competition and also has a negative impact on the other clubs participating in the group, for whom FC Sion has no apparent respectUefa statement

Celtic took Sion's place in Group I and have already played games against Atletico Madrid and Udinese.

The Swiss side were expelled from the tournament and an initial appeal against the decision was rejected.

In a statement on its website, Uefa has outlined its desire for accelerated action in the case, via the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"It seems that FC Sion has repeatedly attempted to obstruct justice and, as quoted by the CAS decision of yesterday, has engaged in a "clear abuse of procedures" to delay or postpone a decision on the merits of the case," the statement said.

"This is obviously detrimental to the smooth running of the competition and also has a negative impact on the other clubs participating in the group, for whom FC Sion has no apparent respect."

Celtic Crash Out of Europa League

Celtic crashed out of the Europa League after a horror start left them a goal and a man down inside the first minute of their second-leg tie against Sion.

Daniel Majstorovic was red-carded for a tackle inside the box, Pascal Feinduono scoring the resulting penalty.

The Guinean fired in a free-kick in the 63rd minute, before Charlie Mulgrew pulled one back for Celtic with 12 minutes remaining.

Giovanni Sio lobbed in the third for Sion to end Celtic's European season.

The result contrubited to a night to forget for Scottish football, with Rangers and Hearts also failing to reach the group stage of the Europa League.

It was a nightmare start for the visitors when, with less than a minute of the match played, Majstorovic was caught out of position during a speedy Sion counter attack.

Geoffrey Serey Die fed the ball to Guilherme Afonso, who was scythed down inside the box by Majstorovic as he raced in on goal.

Referee David Fernandez Borbalan had no hesitation in showing the defender the red card and Feindouno, who had been on trial at Celtic last year, dispatched the ball past Fraser Forster to put the home side ahead.

Down to 10 men, Mulgrew moved into the centre of defence with Joe Ledley taking up the left-back position and Georgios Samaras dropping deeper as the injured Afonso was replaced by Aleksander Prijovic.

Celtic won their first three games of the season - scoring eight and conceding only once.

Since, they have lost two of three and scored just one goal

Unsettled by their start to the match, Celtic struggled to get a foothold in the face of a buoyant Sion.

Mario Mutsch and substitute Aleksander Prijovic both had early chances, then Celtic survived wave after wave of attack instigated by Feinduono - one of five players listed by Sion that Fifa judged ineligible to play for the club due to a transfer embargo, with the Swiss outfit warned they could face sanctions from Uefa.

In the 27th minute Forster had to dive low to his left to beat out a Feindouno free-kick after Kayal was penalised for handball 25 yards out.

Minutes later Cha had to put in a crucial saving block on Feindouno after the striker had brilliantly made a yard of space for himself in the Celtic box.

After the restart it was midfielder Sio who took on the role of Celtic's tormentor; the Frenchman creating a barrage of chances and involved in the second goal; Ki Sung-yueng judged to have fouled him 30 yards from goal to hand Sion a dangerously positioned free kick.

Feindouno's initial effort was blocked, but he was allowed another by a static Celtic defence, with Forster helplessly watching the ball nestle in the corner of the net.

There was a glimmer of hope for Celtic in the 78th minute, when Mulgrew converted a free kick from 20 yards out to put Lennon's side once against within a single goal of securing their progression to the group stages.

But a mistake by Ki on the half-way line eight minutes from time gave Sion the killer blow they needed.

The Korean was dispossessed under little pressure from the mercurial Sio, who picked up the ball and ran all the way to the box before chipping Forster to slot home and end Celtic's run in Europe at the play-off stage for a second year running.

Portuguese Europa League Final in Dublin

Portuguese Liga rivals FC Porto and SC Braga will contest the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League final in Dublin and, as UEFA.com reveals, one-nation European showpieces are not unusual.

The 2010/11 UEFA Europa League final will see Portuguese sides meet in a major continental final for the first time, as Liga titleholders FC Porto face SC Braga in Dublin on 18 May. Yet one-nation showpieces are not unusual: seven UEFA Cup finals have been contested by teams representing the same national association. UEFA.com looks back.

1971/72

Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur FC 

Tottenham Hotspur FC 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC

(Tottenham win 3-2 on aggregate)

The first UEFA Cup final was an all-English affair, much to the disappointment of Spurs striker Alan Mullery. "You expect surprises in Europe, but we had already played Wolves twice in the league," he explained. "We both knew what to expect." Two Martin Chivers goals helped Bill Nicholson's side grab a 2-1 away win, with Mullery on target in the second leg as goalkeeper Pat Jennings helped prevent a Wolves fightback.

1979/80

VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach

(agg 3-3, Eintracht win on away goals)

After two all-German semi-finals Mönchengladbach were favourites to win the trophy. A 19-year-old Lothar Matthäus scored as they won the home leg 3-2 and the return looked set to end 0-0 when another youngster, Fred Schaub, poked in the winner for Eintracht four minutes after his late introduction. "The ball came to me on my stronger left foot," said Schaub, who was tragically killed in a car accident in 2003. "It was an indescribable feeling when it went in; the whole stadium went nuts."

1989/90 

Juventus 3-1 ACF Fiorentina

ACF Fiorentina 0-0 Juventus

(Juventus win 3-1 on aggregate)

Juventus won their second UEFA Cup with Roberto Baggio on the losing side against the club he would join the following month. After a 3-1 victory in Turin, the Bianconeri held the Viola to a goalless draw on neutral ground in Avellino despite playing with ten men for the last 30 minutes. It was not enough to save coach Dino Zoff's job. "Fate is cruel sometimes," the former goalkeeper said. "But lifting the UEFA Cup was consolation for this huge disappointment."

1990/91

FC Internazionale Milano 2-0 AS Roma

AS Roma 1-0 FC Internazionale Milano

(Inter win 2-1 on aggregate)

Giovanni Trapattoni's Inter prevailed in the second successive all-Italian final, with a Matthäus penalty and Nicola Berti's goal earning a 2-0 win at San Siro. The Giallorossi dominated the return fixture but scored only once, through Ruggiero Rizzitelli ten minutes from time. "We had a great match," said Roma coach Ottavio Bianchi. "We penned them into their box for most of the game. Unfortunately it wasn't enough."

1994/95

Parma FC 1-0 Juventus

Juventus 1-1 Parma FC

(Parma win 2-1 on aggregate)

In his second all-Italian UEFA Cup final, this time in a Juventus shirt, Roberto Baggio was upstaged by another Baggio, as Parma midfielder Dino scored the only goal in the first leg before cancelling out Gianluca Vialli's strike in the return fixture. The final came soon after Juventus left-back Andrea Fortunato had died aged 23 of a rare form of leukemia. "I know the Juventus players would have dedicated this trophy to him," said Parma coach Nevio Scala. "I want to do the same."

1997/98

FC Internazionale Milano 3-0 S.S. Lazio

Sven-Göran Eriksson's Lazio lost the only game of their 1997/98 European campaign at the Parc des Princes as the first one-legged UEFA Cup final went Inter's way. Iván Zamorano put them ahead on five minutes and things got worse for the Biancocelesti when Lazio substitute Matías Almeyda got himself sent off. Javier Zanetti and Ronaldo rounded off the scoring. "They deserved to win," conceded Eriksson, "but not 3-0."

2006/07

Sevilla FC 2-2 RCD Espanyol

(aet, Sevilla win 3-1 on penalties)

For only the second time in the competition's history a side successfully defended the UEFA Cup, Sevilla matching Real Madrid CF's achievements in 1985 and 1986. Juande Ramos's men prevailed in a shoot-out at Glasgow's Hampden Park, with Andrés Palop saving three spot kicks. "Penalties are about intuition and luck and it was on our side tonight," the goalkeeper said.

McGeady Wrong Side of 5-1 Score

Aiden McGeady

Radamel Falcao scored a hat-trick as FC Porto routed Spartak Moscow 5-1 last night in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash.

The Colombian striker opened the scoring in Porto with a headed goal in the 37th minute before Silvestre Varela and Maicon added to the recently crowned Portuguese champion’s advantage at its Dragon Stadium.

Kirill Kombarov scored an away goal for Spartak in the 71st minute before Falcao restored the three-goal advantage in the 84th. He took his competition-high goal tally to 10 with a second headed goal in injury-time.

The return leg is in Moscow next Thursday with the winner looking likely to play Villarreal, who routed FC Twente 5-1.

Nilmar struck twice as Villarreal outclassed Twente Enschede at El Madrigal to take a giant step towards the last four.

The Dutch side made a bright enough start to the evening, but the roof caved in on 21 minutes when Villarreal struck with their first attack of the evening.

Borja Valero’s corner was flicked on by Jose Manuel Catala at the near post as Carlos Marchena arrived unmarked to nod the ball home from a couple of yards out.

Valero sprung the offside trap to make it two on 43 minutes before Nilmar drilled home the third goal a minute into time added on in the first half.

The same pattern continued in the second period when Giuseppe Rossi bounded on to a pass by Soriano Bruno to clip home a stunning fourth goal on 55 minutes.

Nilmar added a fifth goal for the La Liga team as he thumped a low shot beyond the visiting keeper Nikolay Mihailov from the edge of the box before Marc Janko nodded a consolation for a frazzled Twente in stoppage-time.

Braga secured a 1-1 away draw against 10-man Dynamo Kiev after an own goal canceled out the host’s early lead, while, in Lisbon, Eduardo Salvio scored in each half as Benfica outclassed PSV Eindhoven 4-1.

Anfield Roar Not Enough for King Kenny

SC Braga reached the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals with a 0-0 draw at Anfield which ensured Liverpool FC joined a lengthening list of high-profile casualties to have succumbed to the Portuguese side this season.

With three UEFA Cup wins to their name, Liverpool were the most successful side left in this season's competition. They could not overturn Braga's 1-0 first-leg advantage, though, failing to win for only the second time in 11 European home games to go the same way as Celtic FC and Sevilla FC, who fell to Domingos Paciência's team in the UEFA Champions League qualifying stages.

Making his first Liverpool start, Andy Carroll, the most expensive ever British player, did his utmost to prevent that from the off. An imposing leap, a deft flick-on, and Joe Cole – himself initially lively and elusive – was only denied by Artur. A corner ensued and there was Carroll again, his climb perfect, his header narrowly wide.

Glen Johnson soon followed suit and a vociferous home support smelt blood. Braga, though, found their feet and checked the hosts' early momentum, Lima's shot warming Pepe Reina's hands for the first time. Narrow in midfield, the Reds were frustrated thereafter, Carroll's presence disruptive but not decisive.

Though Liverpool continued to go aerial after half-time, it was Raul Meireles who headed Dirk Kuyt's cross wide upon their latest bombardment. Short on possession but long on endeavour, Braga continued to play their part, too, Alan poking wide and Hugo Viana testing Reina from a free-kick.

Kenny Dalglish played his part, David Ngog coming on to form a three-pronged attack and immediately testing Artur. Helped out by Kuyt's inadvertent block from Carroll's header, the Braga keeper surpassed himself five minutes from time when he stood firm to deny Martin Škrtel. 

His side had done likewise all evening.

Match Statistics

McGeady and Spartak Make it Through

Dmitri Kombarov gets away from Ajax's Jeroen Verhoeven 

FC Spartak Moskva are through to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals after sweeping aside AFC Ajax 4-0 on aggregate.

Valeri Karpin's decision to attack rather than protect the hosts' slender 1-0 first-leg lead paid dividends as first-half strikes from Dmitri Kombarov and Welliton put them in control. Alex's fine free-kick nine minutes after the interval extinguished any Ajax ambitions of comeback.

Spartak were limited as an attacking force in Amsterdam seven days ago, yet the opportunities flowed thick and fast on home turf. Evgeni Makeev and Dmitri Kombarov went close before, on 21 minutes, the deadlock was broken. Alex pounced on a Jan Vertonghen lapse just outside the penalty area and threatened to shoot before playing a lovely through ball to Dmitri Kombarov, who applied the finish.

Ajax had no answer to Spartak's fluid movement and direct running, and Welliton doubled the deficit on the half-hour mark. This time Gregory van der Wiel conceded possession high up the pitch and in an instant Dmitri Kombarov had galloped upfield, drawing the defence before slipping the ball to Welliton. The Brazilian scored 19 goals last season and made no mistake with a left-footed effort here.

Frank de Boer's side needed a miracle coming out for the second half but their faint hopes all but ended on 54 minutes when first-leg goalscorer Alex bent his free-kick around the wall and past Jeroen Verhoevan.

Spartak took their foot off the gas and at last Ajax started asking questions of the hosts' defence. They found Andriy Dykan in excellent form, the goalkeeper pulling off a number of good saves late on as the Red and Whites moved through to Friday's quarter-final draw.

Ajax's miserable run against Spartak continues: the Dutch side have now lost all four of the games between the sides.

Rising Spartak Star Jano Ananidze

Jano Ananidze

Standing 170cm tall and weighing just 60kg he may be small in stature, but Jano Ananidze has already made big waves in the Russian Premier League. Last year, the diminutive teenager became the youngest goalscorer in Russian league history and at 18 years of age the exciting midfielder already boasts UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and international experience.

Born in the small Georgian coastal town of Kobuleti, on the shores of the Black Sea, Ananidze soon followed the footsteps of his father Amiran, who played for his local team before turning to coaching. Ananidze played for his hometown club before joining FC Dinamo Tbilisi's youth academy at the age of 12. Within 18 months he was on FC Dynamo Kyiv's books before accepting Spartak's offer to move to the Russian capital in summer 2007.

Spartak Moskva's scouts were first alerted to the midfielder's ability when he gave a lively performance for Georgia Under-17s against Russia in Moscow. Ananidze was still 16 when promoted to the capital club's reserves and by 2009 had been invited to take part in training sessions with the first team. He made his competitive debut the same year playing all 90 minutes against FC Krasnodar in the Russian Cup round of 32, crowning a memorable performance with the winning goal.

Three months later Ananidze became the youngest scorer in Russian league history when he struck against FC Lokomotiv Moskva at the age of 17 years and eight days. Despite a number of rumours linking the youngster with moves to Arsenal FC, AC Milan and Juventus, Spartak insisted they were not interested in selling their rising star.

Ananidze was voted Georgia's 2009 Player of the Year after becoming his country's youngest debutant in a 2-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying defeat by Italy in September 2009.

Although in his second full season he found it difficult to match the high standards of his breakthrough campaign, Ananidze can reflect on two more impressive performances: his two goals against FC Sibir Novosibirsk in July that helped Spartak to a 5-3 victory, and the winning goal in Georgia's 2-1 friendly win against Slovenia in November.

Breakthrough game

FC Basel 1893 2-3 FC Spartak Moskva

17/02/2011, UEFA Europa League

After being largely overlooked during the UEFA Champions League group stage, Ananidze took to the pitch at Basel with his team trailing 2-0 at half-time of their round of 32 first-leg encounter. The visitors suddenly found their feet and were soon on level terms, while Ananidze added the coup de grace by scoring a free-kick deep into added time to seal a memorable 3-2 comeback win.

Ananidtze says:

"I am happy to play for Spartak Moskva. I like Spartak's style much more than Dynamo Kyiv's."

On life at Spartak

"I really enjoy playing just behind the strikers, though I can be deployed both on the right and on the left of midfield. The main thing is to help the team."

On his favourite position

"I dream about winning the UEFA Champions League, but first of all we need to win the Russian league with Spartak Moskva."

On his ambitions

They say:

"Jano can fall like a feather after a tackle, but that's OK. He can beat opponents because of his ability to think quickly and his skill on the ball."

Valeri Karpin, Spartak coach