PSV Eindhoven, Werder Bremen and Everton moved closer to the next round of the UEFA Cup on Wednesday with victories in their first-leg matches.
With Europe's second-tier competition resuming at the round-of-32 stage after a two month break, PSV beat Helsingborg 2-0, Werder Bremen defeated Braga 3-0 and Everton won 2-0 at SK Brann.
Also among the 10 matches on Wednesday, former UEFA Cup winners Galatasaray drew 0-0 with Bayer Leverkusen in Istanbul, Marseille beat Spartak Moscow 3-0 and Anderlecht downed visiting Bordeaux 2-1.
PHOTO: AFP
Zenit St. Petersburg beat Villarreal 1-0, and Panathinaikos drew 0-0 with Rangers in Glasgow.
Werder Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese saved two first half penalties by Braga to help his team to victory.
Werder took a fifth-minute lead with a 20m free kick by central defender Naldo and Wiese preserved the advantage in the 10th minute when he dived to his right to deny Roland Linz.
"It wasn't really a penalty," Linz said. "I wasn't touched, but the referee gave it. You should score if you are awarded a penalty in an away game."
Daniel Jensen made it 2-0 in the 27th minute and Wiese saved his second penalty nine minutes later, this time diving to his left to slap away a shot by Jorginho.
Wiese had conceded the penalty by appearing to trip Matheus, but the goalkeeper questioned that decision as well.
"There was contact, but I don't think it was a penalty," he said.
It was Wiese's third penalty save in four days after he stopped a shot from Toni in a 1-1 draw at Bayern in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Hugo Almeida completed Bremen's win in injury time by converting another penalty.
PSV Eindhoven were making their first appearance of the season in the UEFA Cup against Helsingborg, having dropped into the tournament after being eliminated from the European Champions League along with seven other sides. They scored twice in the first 33 minutes to set up the victory.
Timmy Simons put the home side ahead with a seventh-minute penalty awarded for Daniel Andersson's foul on Danko Lazovic.
PSV goalkeeper Gomes twice saved shots by Razak Omotoyossi, who is tied at the top of the tournament scoring charts with teammate Henrik Larsson and Bayern Munich's Luca Toni with six goals. He also thwarted Martin Kolar before Lazovic made it 2-0.
The Serbia striker hit a right-footed shot from about 12m into the top right corner of goal after a cross from Ibrahim Afellay.
Everton, who are a surprising fourth in the English Premier League, won their sixth straight UEFA Cup match with goals by Leon Osman and substitute Victor Anichebe.
SK Brann had been training in southern Spain for several weeks to prepare for the UEFA Cup during the Nordic offseason and dominated early, with Azar Karadas heading just over the bar.
The Norwegian side had a goal disallowed just before halftime for a foul on goalkeeper Tim Howard, who had fumbled the ball over the line, and Everton took the lead in the 57th minute when Osman scored with a low shot into the far corner.
Anichebe replaced Andy Johnson for the last 15 minutes, and after Howard saved shots by Njogu Demba-Nyren and Thorstein Helstad, added the insurance goal in the 88th minute from a cross by Joleon Lescott.
"We knew we had to be patient," Osman said. "European football is a lot different to Premier League football. We've learned that."
Marseille will also take a strong lead into next week's second-leg match against Spartak Moscow after goals by Bruno Cheyrou, Taye Taiwo and Mamadou Niang, while Serbia midfielder Simon Vukcevic scored twice to give Sporting Lisbon a 2-0 win over FC Basel.
Ismael Blanco scored in injury time to salvage a 1-1 draw for AEK Athens against visiting Getafe when he backheeled the ball past keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri.
Substitute Ruben De la Red had put the Spanish club ahead in the 86th minute following a fumbled clearance in the goalmouth by Canadian midfielder Tam Nsaliwa.
The Greek team dominated after a shaky start, but missed several chances.
It was AEK's first game under caretaker coach Nikos Kostenoglou, after two successive league losses prompted Lorenzo Serra Ferrer to resign.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
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