Denizlispor lead Turkish challenge

Turkish sides Besiktas JK and Denizlispor marched through to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup last night as five of the eight former UEFA Champions League hopefuls were eliminated.

Fans cheered
Denizlispor achieved the result of the third round second legs as Mustafa Özkan secured a 1-0 win and aggregate victory at French champions Olympique Lyonnais. Super League leaders Besiktas drew 0-0 at FC Dynamo Kyiv and never looked like relinquishing their 3-1 first-leg lead. The success will have gone a little way to cheering supporters at home after Turkey failed in a joint bid with Greece to stage the 2008 UEFA European Championship.

Mixed night
It was a mixed night for Greek fans, though, as Panathinaikos FC beat the Czech champions FC Slovan Liberec 1-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate. AEK Athens FC eased past Maccabi Haifa FC for the second time in a fortnight, progressing 8-1 over two legs, but FC PAOK Thessaloniki were humbled 4-0 at SK Slavia Praha to tumble out of the competition 4-1 on aggregate.

Dream ended
Dynamo, Lyon and Maccabi Haifa FC qualified for the UEFA Cup after being knocked out of the Champions League first group stage along with RC Lens, Club Brugge KV, and the latter two also saw their European dream end. However, there was no such problem for Liverpool FC as Michael Owen matched his first-leg feat with a solitary goal to give hosts Liverpool a 2-0 aggregate win against Dutch team SBV Vitesse.

Celtic beat Celta
S.S. Lazio lost 1-0 at home to SK Sturm Graz, but advanced courtesy of a 3-1 first-leg win. Another of the favourites to reach the final in Seville, RC Celta de Vigo, beat Celtic FC 2-1 at home yet were eliminated on away goals following a 1-0 loss in Glasgow. Real Betis Balompié lost out to AJ Auxerre, while Málaga CF salvaged Spanish pride by eliminating Leeds United AFC with a 2-1 success in England, the first leg having been goalless.

German challenge
Elsewhere, it was a happy night for German contenders. Hertha BSC Berlin drew 0-0 in London to see off Fulham 2-1 on aggregate and VfB Stuttgart won 1-0 at home against Club Brugge KV to advance by virtue of a 3-1 scoreline. Another 1. Bundesliga outfit, FC Schalke 04, were humbled by Wisla Kraków on Tuesday, though another former winner, RSC Anderlecht, had no such trouble against FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

Away-goals win
There are also two Portuguese sides involved in Friday's draw. FC Porto could afford to lose 1-0 at Lens and qualify 3-1 on aggregate, while Boavista FC were also grateful for their first-leg showing. They achieved an away goal last time out against Paris Saint-Germain FC in a 2-1 defeat and added to that with a 1-0 success to progress.