UEFA Cup Group Stages

Mixed luck for British contingent

Ozren Podnar

USA | Japan

Everton smashed AZ Alkmaar's proud tradition of never having lost a home game in Europe: with a 3-2 away win, the Toffees promoted Zenit Leningrad to the next round, at the same time maintaining a 100% record in the group stage. Everton are already relishing the possible round of 16 clash against Fiorentina, provided both teams can overcome Norwegian opposition, Brann and Rosenborg respectively, in the round of 32.

Tottenham qualified on the penultimate day by holding Anderlecht to a 1-1 draw in Brussels, while Bolton did the job with a fine 1-0 win away to Sporting Braga. Whereas Spurs have been fortunate enough to draw Slavia Prague, fresh from their 0-7 drubbing by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the Champions' League, Bolton have had a dismal luck by stumbling upon Atlético Madrid, one of the principal Primera división sides. Still, if the Wanderers were capable of snatching a point at Bayern's Allianz Arena, why wouldn't they be able to pull this one off?

Aberdeen to revisit Munich

Rangers, relegated to the UEFA Cup after failing to earn the vital draw against Lyon on the last day of the Champions' League group stage, will now face a less talented, but a more cynical Panathinaikos side, which can presumably create all sorts of difficulties for the Blues, especially in front of their passionate crowd in Athens.

Pittodrie will also see action next February thanks to Aberdeen's 4-0 thumping of Kobenhavn in the decisive match for both teams.

Still, their next European tie could be the Dons' last, since their rival are the aforementioned Bayern Munich, the favourites to win this edition of the Cup. A quarter of a century ago, an inimitable Aberdeen squad actually kicked Bayern out of the Cup Winners Cup on the way to winning the competition under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson. Maybe watching the video of that famous 3-2 win could inspire the current generation to perform another amazing upset?

Round of 32

Aberdeen vs Bayern
AEK vs Getafe
Bolton vs Atlético
Zenit vs Villarreal
Galatasaray vs Bayer Leverkusen
Anderlecht vs Bordeaux
Brann vs Everton
Zürich vs HSV
Rangers vs Panathinaikos
PSV vs Helsingborg
Slavia vs Tottenham
Rosenborg vs Fiorentina
Sporting Lisbon vs Basel
Werder vs Sporting Braga
Benfica vs Nürnberg
Marseille vs Spartak Moskva

The first legs are scheduled for February 13/14th and the return legs for February 21st.

Round of 16

winner Anderlecht/Bordeaux vs winner Aberdeen/Bayern
winner Rangers/Panathinaikos vs winner Werder/Sporting Braga
winner Bolton/Atlético vs winner Sporting Lisbon/Basel
winner Galatasaray/Bayer Leverkusen vs winner Zürich/Hamburger
winner AEK/Getafe vs winner Benfica/Nürnberg
winner Rosenborg/Fiorentina vs winner Brann/Everton
winner Slavia/Tottenham vs winner PSV/ Helsingborg
winner Marseille/Spartak Moskva vs winner Zenit/Villarreal

The first legs are scheduled for March 6th, and the return legs for March 12/13th.

GROUP A

1. day
Zenit vs AZ Alkmaar 1-1
Everton vs Larissa 3-1

2. day
Larissa vs Zenit 2-3
Nürnberg vs Everton 0-2

3. day
Zenit vs Nürnberg 2-2
AZ Alkmaar vs Larissa 1-0

4. day
Everton vs Zenit 1-0
Nürnberg vs AZ Alkmaar 2-1

5. day
Larissa vs Nürnberg 1-3
AZ Alkmaar vs Everton 2-3

Order: Everton 12 points, Nürnberg 7, Zenit 5, AZ Alkmaar 4, Larissa 0

GROUP B

1. day
Panathinaikos vs Aberdeen 3-0
Lokomotiv M. vs Atlético M. 3-3

2. day
Kobenhavn vs Panathinaikos 0-1
Aberdeen vs Lokomotiv M. 1-1

3. day
Lokomotiv M. vs Kobenhavn 0-1
Atlético M. vs Aberdeen 2-0

4. day
Panathinaikos vs Lokomotiv M. 2-0
Kobenhavn vs Atlético M. 0-2

5. day
Aberdeen vs Kobenhavn 4-0
Atlético M. vs Panathinaikos 2-1

Order: Atlético 10 points, Panathinaikos 9, Aberdeen 4, Kobenhavn 3, Lokomotiv Moskva 2

GROUP C

1. day
Elfsborg vs AEK 1-1
Villarreal vs Fiorentina 1-1

2. day
Mlada Boleslav vs Villarreal 1-2
Fiorentina vs Elfsborg 6-1

3. day
Elfsborg vs Mlada Boleslav 1-3
AEK vs Fiorentina 1-1

4. day
Villarreal vs Elfsborg 2-0
Mlada Boleslav vs AEK 0-1

5. day
Fiorentina vs Mlada Boleslav 2-1
AEK vs Villarreal 1-2

Order: Villarreal 10 points, Fiorentina 8, AEK 5, Mlada Boleslav 3, Elfsborg 1

GROUP D

FC Basel 4
Hamburg 3
Dinamo Zagreb 1
Rennes 1
SK Brann 1

1. day
Brann vs Hamburger 1-1
Basel vs Rennes 1-0

2. day
Dinamo Zagreb vs Basel 0-0
Rennes vs Brann 1-1

3. day
Brann vs Dinamo Zagreb 2-1
Hamburger vs Rennes 3-0

4. day
Dinamo Z. vs Hamburger 0-2
Basel vs Brann 1-0

5. day
Rennes vs Dinamo Zagreb 1-1
Hamburger vs Basel 1-1

Order: Hamburger 10 points, Basel 8, Brann 4, Dinamo Zagreb 2, Rennes 2

GROUP E

1. day
Sparta P. vs Zürich 1-2
Bayer vs Toulouse 1-0

2. day
Spartak M. vs Bayer 2-1
Toulouse vs Sparta P. 2-3

3. day
Sparta P. vs Spartak M. 0-0
Zürich vs Toulouse 2-0

4. day
Bayer vs Sparta P. 1-0
Spartak M. vs Zürich 1-0

5. day
Toulouse vs Spartak M. 2-1
Zürich vs Bayer 0-5

Order: Bayer 9 points, Spartak Moskva 7, Zürich 6, Sparta Prag 4, Toulouse 3

GROUP F

1. day
Bolton vs Sporting B. 1-1
Red Star vs Bayern 2-3

2. day
Bayern vs Bolton 2-2
Aris vs Red Star 3-0

3. day
Bolton vs Aris 1-1
Sporting B. vs Bayern 1-1

4. day
Red Star vs Bolton 0-1
Aris vs Sporting B. 1-1

5. day
Bayern vs Aris 6-0
Sporting B. vs Red Star 2-0

Order: Bayern 8 points, Bolton 6, Sporting Braga 6, Aris 5, Red Star 0

GROUP G

1. day
Anderlecht vs Hapoel T.A. 2-0
Tottenham vs Getafe 1-2

2. day
Hapoel T.A. vs Tottenham 0-2
Aalborg vs Anderlecht 1-1

3. day
Tottenham vs Aalborg 3-2
Getafe vs Hapoel T.A. 1-2

4. day
Anderlecht vs Tottenham 1-1
Aalborg vs Getafe 1-2

5. day
Hapoel vs Aalborg 1-3
Getafe vs Anderlecht 2-1

Order: Getafe 9 points, Tottenham 7, Anderlecht 5, Aalborg 4, Hapoel Tel Aviv 3

GROUP H

1. day
Helsingborgs vs Panionios 1-1
Bordeaux vs Galatasaray 2-1

2. day
Galatasaray vs Helsingborgs 2-3
Austria Vienna vs Bordeaux 1-2

3. day
Helsingborgs vs Austria Vienna 3-0
Panionios vs Galatasaray 0-3

4. day
Bordeaux vs Helsingborgs 2-1
Austria Vienna vs Panionios 0-1

5. day
Galatasaray vs Austria Vienna 0-0
Panionios vs Bordeaux 2-3

Order: Bordeaux 12 points, Helsingborgs 7, Galatasaray 4, Panionios 4, Austria Vienna 1