Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Europa League, MatchDay #5, Part One: Ajax, Toffees, Yellow Submarine Advance; Bhoys Eliminated

Group stage play in UEFA's Europa League resumed on Wednesday.

Group A:

At Timisoara, Romania:

Luis Suarez (8') and Marko Pantelic (46') enabled Ajax Amsterdam to erase an early one-goal deficit and defeat FC Timisoara 2-1 on the road to lock up a berth in the opening knockout round (round of 32).

At Brussels, Belgium:

Miroslav Slepicka scored the game's lone goal (57') as Dinamo Zagreb kept their hopes alive of advancing to the knockout stage by defeating RSC Anderlecht on the road 1-0.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Ajax* (GP:5; GD: +4; PTS: 11)
2. RSC Anderlecht (GP: 5; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
3. Dinamo Zagreb (GP: 5; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
4. FC Timisoara# (GP: 5; GD: -6; PTS: 2)

*Clinched berth in knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition

Notes: On 29 October 2009, UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body ruled that Dinamo Zagreb would have to play their next two home matches in the UEFA Europa League behind closed doors due to the actions of their supporters in their match at Timişoara. They also deducted three points from the Croatian club's points tally in Group A. The club appealed, but the appeal was not heard until after the first closed-doors game against Ajax. After the appeal was heard, UEFA replaced the three point deduction with a €75,000 fine, and a three-year suspended ban from European competition.

Group B:


At Valencia, Spain:

Joaquin doubled (3', 32') as Valencia defeated visiting LOSC Lille Metropole to move atop the Group B standings.

At Prague, Czech Republic:

A 0-0 home draw against Genoa eliminated Slavia Prague from European competition.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

1. Valencia (GP: 5; GD: +3; PTS: 9)
2. Lille (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 7)
3. Genoa (GP: 5; GD: -1; PTS: 7)
4. Slavia Prague# (GP: 5; GD: -6; PTS: 3)

#Eliminated from European competition


Group C:

At Glasgow, Scotland:

Georgios Samaras (22') and Barry Robson (68') provided the goalpower that lifted Celtic to a 2-0 home win over Hapoel Tel-Aviv. Ironically, however, because of Hamburg's win over Rapid Vienna (more on that later), the Bhoys were eliminated from European competition and their Israeli guests advanced to the knockout stage.

At Hamburg, Germany:

Thanks to goals from Marcell Jansen (47') and Marcus Berg (53'), Hamburg clinched a berth in the knockout stage with a 2-0 home win over Rapid Vienna, eliminating the Austrian club (and Celtic) from European competition.

GROUP C STANDINGS:

1. Hamburg* (GP: 5; GD: +2; PTS: 10)
2. Hapoel Tel-Aviv* (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 9)
3. Celtic# (GP: 5; GD: 0; PTS: 5)
4. Rapid Vienna# (GP: 5; GD: -6; PTS: 4)

*Clinched berth in knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition

Group G:

At Salzburg, Austria:

FC Red Bull Salzburg locked up first place in Group G with a 2-1 home win over Lazio, eliminating the Italian club from European competition in the process. Rabiou Afolabi (52') and Somen Tchoyi (78') provided the scoring for the Bulls, who have now won five straight games in the competition.

At Sofia, Bulgaria:

Giuseppe Rossi (37') and Marcos Senna (84') provided the goalpower that carried Villarreal to a 2-0 road win over Levski Sofia, sending the Yellow Submarine into the knockout stage and ending the hosts dreams of playing in European competition after Christmas.

GROUP G STANDINGS:

1. Red Bull Salzburg** (GP: 5; GD: +6; PTS: 15)
2. Villarreal* (GP: 5; GD: +3; PTS: 9)
3. Lazio# (GP: 5; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
4. Levski Sofia# (GP: 5; GD: -9; PTS: 8)

**Won Group G and clinched a berth in the knockout stage
*Clinched a berth in the knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition

Group H:

At Tiraspol , Moldova:

Juan Toja's goal at 87 minutes canceled out Amath Diedhiou's goal at 83 minutes as Steaua Bucharest came from behind to salvage a 1-1 road draw with FC Sheriff. The draw was not good enough for the club from the Romanian capital as they are eliminated from European competition.

At Enschede, Netherlands:

Diego Lugano scored the lone tally of the match at 71 minutes as Fenerbache locked up top spot in Group H with a 1-0 road win over FC Twente.

GROUP H STANDINGS:

1. Fenerbahce** (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 12)
2. FC Twente (GP: 5; GD: -1; PTS: 7)
3. FC Sheriff (GP: 5; GD: 0; PTS: 5)
4. Steaua Bucharest# (GP: 5; GD: -3; PTS: 3)

**Won Group H and clinched a berth in the knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition.

Group I:

At Minsk, Belarus:

SL Benfica, thanks to tallies courtesy of Javier Saviola (46') and Fabio Coentrao (63'), secured a spot in the knockout stage at the expense of BATE Borisov 2-0. The Belarussian club were eliminated from European competition with the loss.

At Athens, Greece:

Dinyar Bilyaletdinov scored the only goal of the match (6') as Everton locked a berth in the knockout stage with a 1-0 road win over AEK Athens.

GROUP I STANDINGS:

1. SL Benfica* (GP: 5; GD: +9; PTS: 12)
2. Everton* (GP: 5; GD: -1; PTS: 9)
3. BATE Borisov# (GP: 5; GD: -3; PTS 4)
4. AEK Athens# (GP: 5; GD: -5; PTS: 4)

*Clinched berths in knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition

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