Rangers, Tottenham, Blackburn and Newcastle kept the Union Jack flying in the UEFA Cup on Thursday with the British quartet all registering wins to move closer to the knockout stages.
Newcastle faced arguably the trickiest assignment down in Sicily against joint Serie A leaders Palermo but the Magpies came away with a 1-0 win after Spanish striker Albert Luque scored eight minutes before half time.
Palermo laid siege to Newcastle's goal in the second half, and the visitors were indebted to their 18-year-old Dutch keeper Tim Krul for a string of outstanding saves.
"What an atmosphere, it was unbelievable, and a I got a clean sheet as well," said Krul, called up for his debut as a stand-in for the injured Steve Harper.
Over at White Hart Lane Tottenham looked to be in for an awkward night as FC Bruges made the better start.
The Belgian visitors were in front before the quarter of an hour mark after a goal of exceptional quality from Ghanian Salou Ibrahim.
But Dimitar Berbatov, on the mark against Besiktas last month, volleyed in minutes later.
Heart of the action
The Bulgarian forward was at the heart of Tottenham's second when he found Robbie Keane with the Republic of Ireland international sending a classy finish past Stijn Stijnen. Berbatov's emphatic header sealing victory 10 minutes later.
"We needed a lot of chances to score," coach Martin Jol said. "We showed we can score goals, but we need to be more greedy."
On Berbatov's contribution Jol added: "I'm happy he showed everybody he is a skilful player. If he gets the service he's a good center-forward. It's not easy for a foreign player to adapt to the English game. They need three, four, five months, but maybe he can do it earlier. I hope so."
A breathtaking 75th minute goal from Turkish international Tugay helped Blackburn to a 3-0 rout of outfit FC Basel at Ewood Park.
The Swiss visitors looked set to leave with a hard-earned point before Tugay beat keeper Franco Costanzo from 25-yards.
Former Arsenal striker Francis Jeffers made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the final minute after Reto Zanni had fouled Morten Gamst Pedersen before Benni McCarthy, the victim of racism in Blackburn's opening win over Polish side Wisla Krakow, scored with virtually the last kick.
Rovers manager Mark Hughes heaped praise on 36-year-old Tugay.
"It was a fantastic strike and he continues to defy his advancing years. It was my birthday the other day so I know how hard it is to stop yourself from feeling old. But he plays with a smile on his face and can still have a great influence."
He also had a word for Jeffers after his first goal since April last year.
"He has had a difficult time the last couple of seasons," said Hughes. "We gave him a chance and he is working very hard to take the opportunity."
Up in Scotland Rangers kept up the winning momentum with a 2-0 win over Maccaibi Haifa.
Goals in either half from Spanish striker Nacho Novo and Charlie Adam put paid to the Israeli outfit to help lift spirits at Ibrox after Rangers' stuttering domestic campaign which has left them well adrift of Celtic in the Scottish Premier League.
`Almost Qualified'
"We've almost qualified, that's good news," said Rangers coach Paul Le Guen who had to make an earlier than anticipated substitution by replacing keeper Lionel Letizi who suffered an injury in warm-up with Allan McGregor. "This is confirmation that we can do better in the league. We have to, we have to start winning regularly."
The four British sides are now sitting pretty on the road to the knockout stages with each one topping their respective groups with a three point cushion.
Elsewhere Livorno's Marco Amelia made a rare intervention for a keeper in his side's 1-1 draw at Partizan Belgrade -- by scoring a goal.
The home side were leading thanks to Nenad Mirosavljevic's goal in the 70th minute.
But Livorno, who lost 3-2 to Glasgow Rangers in their opening Group A match, leveled the score two minutes from time thanks to their unlikely scorer.
Amelia, Italy's third-choice keeper in their World Cup winning squad, went up for a late free-kick and headed home Dario Passoni's crossed free-kick to salvage a precious point for the Tuscan club.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care