Late flurry sends Stuttgart through

VfB Stuttgart 2-0 Lille OSC (Stuttgart win 2-1 on aggregate)

Stuttgart leave it late
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in France, Stuttgart scored twice in the last ten minutes to go through 2-1 on aggregate. Substitute Kevin Kuranyi sealed the comeback with an 88th-minute header after Krassimir Balakov had brought the home side level on 81 minutes.

Penalty miss
Stuttgart's chances of overturning Nicolas Bonnal's goal in Lille had looked slim when Balakov missed a penalty during a lively start to the second half. Stéphane Pichot handled a shot on the goalline, earning a red card, but Balakov failed to convert his spot-kick.

Different complexion
Earlier, Jochen Seitz, on 16 minutes, and Ioannis Amanatidis, on the stroke of half-time, had had goals disallowed for offside. However, Balakov's goal changed the complexion of the tie, allowing Kuranyi to clinch a memorable victory for Felix Magath's men.

Grey skies for Lille
Claude Puel's Lille struggled to impose themselves under rainy skies at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, although Benoît Cheyrou failed to take advantage of two openings that came his way in the first half.

In the hat
UEFA Cup finalists in 1989, Stuttgart now go into Friday's draw for the UEFA Cup first round.