CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Former England manager Steve McClaren saw his debut as a manager in the Champions League brought to an end on Tuesday in the cruelest fashion as Sporting Lisbon scored an injury-time goal to go through on the away goal rule with the tie with FC Twente finishing 1-1 on aggregate.
To make matters even harder to take for McClaren — who guided unfashionable Middlesbrough to the UEFA Cup final in 2006 where they lost to Sevilla — it was an own goal by Peter Wisgerhof, who deflected Sporting’s goalkeeper Rui Patricio’s header from a last ditch corner, which saw the visitors progress.
PHOTO: AP
Twente had held the lead virtually from the off with Brazilian defender Douglas giving them the lead in the second minute.
Kazakh side Aktobe were another side to suffer after taking the lead early on, but in their case they only had themselves to blame as they went 3-0 up after just 15 minutes away at Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa.
Maccabi had reduced the deficit to 3-2 at half-time and then two second-half goals by Georgian international Vladimir Dvalishvili — who only arrived in the summer — saw the hosts to a remarkable 4-3 victory which was also the aggregate score.
Austrian side Salzburg also enjoyed a successful night away from home as they beat Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 to go through 3-2 on aggregate, while Greek heavyweights Panathinaikos overcame a 3-1 deficit from the first leg to beat Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic 3-0 and go through 4-3 on aggregate.
For Sparta it was a case of nightmares revisited as the same side had ousted them at the same stage of the competition last year and the writing was on the wall when Kostas Katsouranis made it 2-0 nine minutes into the second-half as it put the Greeks ahead on away goals.
However, they were only able to wrap up their place in the next round when Dimitris Salpingidis scored with a minute of the match remaining to give Dutch coach Henk ten Cate — a former Ajax manager and assistant manager at Chelsea — an important victory.
Yesterday’s action included the possibility of two of the better known clubs going out at what would be a disastrously early stage for them both.
Scottish giants Celtic were to try to overcome a 1-0 deficit in Moscow against Dynamo Moscow.
The former European Cup winners have never before overturned a first-leg deficit in European competition, but new manager Tony Mowbray is banking on them doing so as he said last week they need to progress in the competition if he is to have funds for new players.
Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk — their country’s first ever European trophy winners when they won the last ever UEFA Cup last season — also faced a tough task as they headed to unheralded Romanian side Timisoara with the hosts holding what could be an invaluable two away goals under their belt after a 2-2 draw in the first leg.
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SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
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