Enzo Maresca's penalty two minutes from the end salvaged a 2-2 draw for defending UEFA Cup champion Sevilla against Shakhtar Donetsk in a game with three successful spot kicks on Thursday.
Top of the Spanish league, Sevilla seemed to be moving confidently toward a place in the last eight when Jose Luis Marti scored with an eighth-minute penalty at Stadio Pizjuan. But the Ukrainian side hit back with Tomas Hubschman's 19th-minute equalizer and a 60th-minute penalty by Brazilian midfielder Matuzalem.
Maresca, who started his pro career with West Bromwich Albion in England and then moved to Italian soccer powerhouse Juventus, made it 2-2 from the spot two minutes from the end after he was fouled by Olexiy Gay. But Shakhtar have the advantage of two away goals when the teams meet again in Donetsk next Thursday.
PHOTO: AP
"I don't like the result but that's what we've got," Sevilla coach Juande Ramos said. "It's not positive because it obliges us to win or draw with a lot of goals. I'm not surprised because our opponent is Champions League level."
On a poor night for the four Spanish clubs trying to reach the last eight, Osasuna conceded an injury time-equalizer to finish 1-1 at Rangers and Celta Vigo lost 1-0 at home to Werder Bremen.
Espanyol earned a 0-0 draw at Maccabi Haifa, the home side's substitute Shlomi Arbaitman having a goal disallowed for offside 10 minutes from the end.
PHOTO: AFP
Hugo Almeida scored for Bremen with six minutes remaining, leaving Celta to deal with a home defeat and a tough ask to reach the last eight.
Osasuna led at Ibrox through Raul Garcia after 16 minutes but Rangers hit back through French midfielder Brahim Hemdani in injury time.
Robbie Keane's second goal was an injury-time winner as Tottenham won 3-2 at Sporting Braga. He beat the Braga offside trap to net the winner after Braga had come back from 2-0 down and appeared to have snatched a draw.
Aaron Lennon's improvised, flicked-up lob set up Keane on the volley from 18m in the 57th minute. In the 72nd, Lennon ended a dribble with a shot that goalkeeper Paulo Santos couldn't hold, and Steed Malbranque netted the rebound for Spurs' second.
Paulo Jorge replied for Braga in the 75th by scoring from the rebound after Spurs' England goalkeeper Paul Robinson blocked his penalty. Ze Carlos Silva made it 2-2 with a long-range, near-post header in the 81st.
Newcastle beat Louis van Gaal's AZ Alkmaar 4-2 in a thrilling end-to-end game in which five goals were scored in the first half with Obafemi Martins scoring twice.
An own goal by Gretar Steinsson and two goals in a minute by Kieron Dyer and Martins gave the Magpies a 3-0 lead inside the first 23 minutes. Shota Arveladze hit back with a powerful diving header for the Dutch club in the 31st but Martins made it 4-1 in the 37th.
Danny Koevermans scored a second for AZ in the 72nd from the rebound after Moussa Dembele's poorly taken free kick was blocked by goalkeeper Shay Given.
Paris Saint-Germain rallied from a goal down to edge Benfica 2-1.
After Simao Sabrosa gave the visitors a ninth-minute lead, Portugal international striker Pauleta equalized in the 36th minute and then began the move that led to Alain Frau scoring the second in the 41st.
Lens edged Bayer Leverkusen 2-1.
Olivier Monterrubio gave Lens the lead in the 17th with a lob over goalkeeper Rene Adler, and was fouled which led to Daniel Cousin sealing the win with a penalty in the 70th. Karim Haggui, who fouled Monterrubio and was sent off, scored for the visitor in the 51st.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he