CSKA Moscow's hold on the UEFA Cup was all but snatched away when it lost 1-0 to Dinamo Bucharest and slipped to fourth in its group on Thursday.
But Levski Sofia, Zenit St. Petersburg, Sevilla, Rapid Bucharest, Shakhtar Donetsk and VfB Stuttgart all made it to the last 32 knockout phase of Europe's second-string competition, to total 13 clubs advanced.
AS Roma's chances are shaky after tossing away the lead in a 3-1 loss at Red Star Belgrade, and FC Basel jumped into contention in the same group by overturning a 3-1 deficit at home and beating Norway's Tromso 4-3.
PHOTO: AP
In Bucharest, Vlad Munteanu scored the only goal of the game 18 minutes from the end to complete a miserable week for Russian champion CSKA, which also lost a huge sponsorship deal.
CSKA was powered financially by Sibneft, a huge oil company formerly owned by Chelsea's Roman Abramovich. But Abramovich sold Sibneft to Gazprom, the largest producer of natural gas in the world, and the new owner decided not to continue sponsoring CSKA.
Also in Group F, Levski Sofia advanced to the last 32 knockout round by edging Marseille 1-0 thanks to Hristo Yovov's second-half goal, and took over top spot from the French club, which had already qualified.
PHOTO: AFP
With just one round of games to go in two weeks' time, Levski and Marseille have six points and Dinamo and CSKA are tied on four. But CSKA, which upset Sporting Lisbon 3-1 in last season's final on the Portuguese club's turf, has played all four of its games.
That means Dinamo will capture the third qualifying spot from the group by avoiding a loss at Marseille on Dec. 15.
Dutch club Heerenveen, which is last with two points, can also make it to the third round.
But that would depend on Heerenveen beating Levski at home, and Dinamo losing at Marseille.
While CSKA slipped up, Zenit St. Petersburg made sure there would be at least two Russian clubs in the next round by drawing Besiktas 1-1 in Istanbul. Lokomotiv Moscow has already made it. In the same group, Sevilla advanced by beating Portuguese club Guimaraes 3-1 with Argentina star Javier Saviola scoring twice.
Rapid Bucharest, Shakhtar Donetsk and VfB Stuttgart all made it from Group G thanks to Rapid's 1-0 victory at home over Greek club PAOK, and Shakhtar's 1-0 triumph at Rennes.
Two more French teams, Olympique Marseille and Strasbourg, England's Middlesbrough, Steaua Bucharest, Dutch team AZ Alkmaar and Litex Lovech of Bulgaria were already through.
After the final rotation of group matches, they will be joined in the third round by eight teams which finish third in the group stages of the Champions League.
Juventus and Fiorentina drew 2-2 in an Italian Cup match which was temporarily suspended when tear gas engulfed the stadium on Thursday.
Police dispersed gas to try and prevent rival fans from clashing with each other, although three fans were injured in the clashes, the ANSA news agency reported.
Referee Luca Palanca stopped play two minutes into the second half with Fiorentina leading 1-0. Players and fans stood bewildered as they covered their faces, and Palanca eventually ordered the teams to the locker rooms.
Medical teams treated fans and RAI state TV reported that the tear gas caused some players to suffer stomach problems.
Once the air cleared, play resumed about 20 minutes after the interruption began.
Bulgaria striker Valeri Bojinov had scored 38 minutes in, controlling the ball with his left foot and shooting with his right past Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who was playing for the first time since August following a shoulder injury.
Forward Gianpaolo Pazzini gave Fiorentina a 2-0 lead in the 50th on a play where he appeared to use his left arm to control the ball.
In the 52nd, defender Gianluca Pessotto cut the lead in half with a shot from within the penalty area, and Juve's Romania striker Adrian Mutu equalized in the 69th, surprising Sebastien Frey with a shot from the far flank that the goalkeeper may have taken as a cross.
The match kicked off five minutes late as part of an Italian Soccer Federation initiative in response to racist behavior of some fans at a game in Messina last Sunday.
The return leg of the fourth round is scheduled for January.
League-leader Juventus and third-place Fiorentina will also play on Sunday in Serie A.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Steve Smith yesterday announced his retirement from one-day international (ODI) cricket after captaining Australia to a semi-final exit at the ICC Champions Trophy, bringing down the curtain on a career in the format that included two ICC World Cup wins. The 35-year-old batsman, who was his team’s top scorer with 73 as Australia lost to India by four wickets in Dubai on Tuesday, said he would still be available for selection for T20 internationals and Test matches. “It has been a great ride and I have loved every minute of it,” Smith said in a Cricket Australia statement. “There have been so
RSS