Milan salvage Italian pride

Milan AC were victorious, but the other three Italian sides left in the UEFA Cup failed to win the first legs of their third-round ties on Thursday.

Last-minute goal
Internazionale FC fell to a solitary goal from Alun Armstrong against FA Premiership side Ipswich Town FC at Portman Road stadium, while AC Fiorentina lost at home to Lille OSC by the same margin. Completing a night of misery for Serie A clubs, a last-minute goal denied Parma AC a 1-0 win against Brøndby IF in Denmark.

Joy in Milan
The only cheer for Italian first division clubs came with Milan's 2-0 win over Sporting Clube de Portugal at the San Siro stadium thanks to goals from Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi.

Close call for Leeds
It was nearly a grim night for English side Leeds United AFC at the Hardturm stadium, but two late goals saw them secure a 2-1 victory against Grasshopper-Club. The home side took the lead through Stéphane Chapuisat and missed a second-half penalty before Ian Harte (73) and Alan Smith (80) scored to give Leeds an advantage.

Poor fortune
It was a night of poor fortune for the two Scottish representatives in the UEFA Cup with both Celtic FC and Rangers FC failing to seize the advantage in their ties. Celtic lost 1-0 to Valencia CF with Vicente Rodríguez's second-half strike proving decisive at the Mestalla stadium.

Stalemate
Rangers, meanwhile, had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Paris Saint-Germain FC at the Ibrox stadium after missing numerous chances and having Fernando Ricksen sent off for his second bookable offence with ten minutes of the game remaining. The two Glasgow clubs meet in the Old Firm derby on Sunday.

Mallorca humbled
The evening's big winners were Club Brugge KV who took charge of their tie with Olympique Lyonnais with a 4-1 win at the Jan Breydelstadion. FC Slovan Liberec, meanwhile, had the most surprising win of the night as they humbled RCD Mallorca 3-1 at the U Nisy stadium.