UEFA Cup Group Stage, MatchDay # 5

Matchday #5 in the UEFA Cup commenced on Wednesday.

Group E:

At Portsmouth, England:

Peter Crouch scored twice (40', 42') as Portsmouth defeated visiting SC Heerenveen 3-0 in a battle of the two Group E clubs that wound up their European adventures.

At Milan, Italy:

VfL Wolfsburg, with goals from Cristian Zaccardo (56') and Mahir Saglik (81'), gained a 2-2 road draw with fellow advancers AC Milan to claim top spot in Group E. Massimo Ambrosini (17') and Pato (56') provided the hosts goals.

FINAL GROUP E STANDINGS:

1. VfL Wolfsburg (GP: 4; GD: +6; PTS: 10)
2. AC Milan (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
3. Sporting Braga (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
4. Portsmouth (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)
5. SC Heerenveen (GP: 4; GD: -10; PTS: 0)

VfL Wolfsburg, AC Milan, and Sporting Braga advanced to the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup.

Group F:

At Hamburg, Germany:

Ivica Olic scored twice (30', 57') and Mladen Petric once (18') as Hamburg overpowered visiting Aston Villa 3-1 to win Group F.

At Amsterdam, Netherlands:

Luis Suarez scored the late equalizer with his succesful penalty kick (90'+1) as Ajax Amsterdam salvaged a 2-2 home deadlock with Slavia Prague.

FINAL GROUP F STANDINGS:

1. Hamburg (GP: 4; GD: +4; PTS: 9)
2. Ajax Amsterdam (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
3. Aston Villa (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
4. Zilina (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)
5. Slavia Prague (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 2)

Hamburg, Ajax, and Aston Villa advanced to the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup.

Group G:

At Bruges, Belgium:

Cesar Santin scored the only goal of the match (58') as FC Copenhagen defeated hosts Club Brugge 1-0 to claim a berth in the UEFA Cup group stage, eliminating the Belgian club in the process.

At Saint-Etienne, France:

In a contest involving two clubs heading for the UEFA Cup's Round of 32, Saint-Etienne locked up the top spot in Group G with a 2-2 home draw with Valencia. Ilan scored both of the hosts goals (29', 44'), while the Spanish club got tallies from Fernando Morientes (33') and Nikola Zigic (72').

FINAL GROUP G STANDINGS:

1. Saint-Etienne (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 8)
2. Valencia (GP: 4; GD: +4; PTS: 6)
3. FC Copenhagen (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 5)
4. Club Brugge (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 3)
5. Rosenborg (GP: 4; GD: -7; PTS: 1)

Saint-Etienne, Valencia, and FC Copenhagen advanced to the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup.

Group H:

At La Coruna, Spain:

Rodolfo Bodipo's goal at 74 minutes lifted Deportivo La Coruna to a 1-0 home win over AS Nancy, sending the Spanish club into the UEFA Cup knockout stage and eliminating the French club from European competition.

At Rotterdam, Netherlands:

KKS Lech Poznan won their way into the Final 32 of the UEFA Cup with their 1-0 road win over Feyenoord, who lost all four of their group stage encounters. Ivan Djurdjevic scored the game's lone tally at 27 minutes.

FINAL GROUP H STANDINGS:

1. CSKA Moscow (GP: 4; GD: +7; PTS: 12)
2. Deportivo La Coruna (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
3. KKS Lech Poznan (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 5)
4. AS Nancy (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 4)
5. Feyenoord Rotterdam (GP: 4; GD: -9; PTS: 0)

CSKA Moscow, Deportivo La Coruna, and KKS Lech Poznan advanced to the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup.

Group stage play concludes Thursday, with the draw for the rounds of 32 and 16 of the UEFA Cup and the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League on Friday.