Tottenham were stunned by ten-man PAOK at White Hart Lane Wednesday night with a 2-1 loss that should end their Europa League adventure for this season. PAOK scored twice quickly and rode their luck to win a slot in the next round in a marred by refereeing controversy.
It was a bad night for UK clubs overall, with Shamrock, Celtic and Birmingham also losing. The Europa League continues tomorrow with Fulham in action against Twente, Stoke facing Kiev, and Salzburg hosting big-spending PSG.
Europa League: When and where
FOX will be the new home of the Europa League beginning next season, bringing you all the action live across the FOX family of outlets. This year fans can follow all the Europa League action on GolTV, DirecTV, FOXSoccer.com and in real-time on game days via @FOXSoccerTrax. Europa League resumes play on December 1st at noon Eastern time as Lokomotiv Moscow host SK Sturm Graz in Russia.
Elsewhere, Club Brugge completed the comeback of the year to qualify with a 4-3 victory over Maribor; Hannover lost to Standard 2-0, but both qualified; Atletico Madrid downed Celtic 1-0 to progress, but left the Scots with some slim hope; Metalist wrapped things up with a 4-1 win over Austria Wien and advance; and Braga went on with a 1-0 win over Birmingham.
Brugge edges Maribor Branik in slugfest
The match of the night — perhaps of the whole competition to date — was in Slovenia where Maribor Branik built a 3-0 lead and looked to be cruising home against the Belgians from Club Brugge. In fact, Brugge's Ryan Donk had even helped the home team take control, scoring an own goal in between a brace from Dalibor Volas.
Everything changed in the final 16 minutes. As fog swirled above the stadium, Brugge suddenly and unexpectedly looked like a different team. Nabil Dirar got them back into the hunt with a pair of goals in three minutes. Then Thomas Meunier laid on the equalizer from Joseph Akpala’s cross. That was three goals in eight minutes.
Maribor could not hold off the onslaught — or the collapse, depending on your point of view — and Donk redeemed himself with the game-winner in stoppage time, a goal set up by Bjorn Vlemincxx.
By coming all the way back, Brugge joined Sporting Braga on 10 points atop Group H, as English Carling Cup holders Birmingham City became odd team out on the night. City contributed to its own woes, Nicola Zigic having an 11th-minute penalty saved by Quim that punctuated an opening 25 minutes when Birmingham did everything, except score.
When Hugo Viana got the benefit of a deflection and watched his 20-yard shot catch the lower corner in the 52nd minute, Braga had a 1-0 lead they protected to the finish.
Udinese, Celtic to battle for Group I’s last ticket
Group I will go down to the final night in Udinese because the Italians could not break down Rennes and had to settle for a 0-0 draw in France. That result kept Celtic alive, even though the Scots lost on another disappointing European night in Glasgow. Beaten by a Arda Turan drive of majestic power in the 30th minute, Atletico Madrid prevailed 1-0 and clinched its spot in the final 32.
Almost there: Winger Arda Turan helped push Atletico Madrid to the top of Group I Wednesday night. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Arda ripped his shot after a headed-clearance of a corner fell to him well outside the box and the ball may have taken a slight deflection before slamming into the back of the net. Celtic, too profligate as usual in these European matches, now must win in Italy to advance.
Metalist Kharkov conquers Group G
Metalist Kharkov clinched first place in Group G with an easy 4-1 victory over Austria Vienna, but even that harsh defeat did not end the losers' hopes. That's because Jozy Altidore's AZ Alkmaar made heavy weather of it in Sweden, held 0-0 by previously pointless Malmo and heads into the last match day with just a one-point edge over Austria Vienna.
Marko Debic, Edmar, Papa Gueye and Jose Sosa scored for Metalist, who now sit six points clear of the pack and travel to Alkmaar on the final night. Austria Vienna is home to Malmo, needing a win and some help from Metalist to remain in the competition.
Group A’s top spot still up for grabs
Group A is also set to go the final night, even though Rubin Kazan had a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Shamrock Rovers. The Russians will still need at least a draw in Greece against PAOK to qualify for the knockout phase.
Rubin was always better than the Irish part-timers, but it took a goal from Natcho six minutes before the interval and a second strike from Nelson Haedo Valdez eight minutes into the second half, to steady the ship.
When Valdez blew past defenders to score 10 minutes in, it looked like the rout was on, but Shamrock leveled two minutes later with Ken Oman's header. Rubin needed another 25 minutes to settle things down, as Obafemi Martins got the fourth goal for the victors.
Party time: P.A.O.K. supporters traveled in bunches to see their beloved club defeat EPL side Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Then there’s Spurs, who conceded two bad goals thanks to gaffes from William Gallas, Heurelho Gomes and Verdun Corluka, to snatch a two-goal lead with only 13 minutes played in North London. Fortunately for Spurs, a lifeline was tossed when ref Bas Nijhuis controversially ejected Kostas Stafylidis for handling the ball on the line, allowing Luka Modric to convert the ensuing penalty attempt. It was an iffy decision, as replays seemed to indicate the ball had actually come off the Greek’s midriff, but with that, Spurs were energized.
What they could not do was score. Jermain Defoe put the ball in the net late in second-half, only to see the goal waved off. Why it was waived off will be answered when the official report is released. Pablo Contreras was fouled by Defoe and lay in a heap on the goal-line, but play continued and that’s when the English international pounced on the ball. Then, under advisement from his linesman, referee Bas Nijhuis reversed the call, as Spurs’ players celebrated in their home pitch. Initially, it seemed the assistant flagged it for offside, and no explanation for that impossible decision was offered.
With the result, Tottenham needs a win, a six-goal swing at Shamrock Rovers and help from PAOK against Rubin, though it’s highly unlikely to happen.
PSV, Standard Liege clear class of respective groups
In Group B, Standard Liege downed Hannover 2-0 thanks to goals from Mohamed Tchite and Gohi Bi Cyriac. An own goal from Dame N’Doye in the other game of the group, resulting in a 1-1 draw for his Copenhagen against eliminated Vorskla, put the Belgians and Germans into the next round. Steve Cherundolo started for Hannover and was cautioned in the match.
In Group C, PSV won the group with a 3-0 thumping of depleted Legia. It was not a night to remember for the Poles: Michael Zewlakow put the ball in his own net, then saw keeper Dusan Kuciak sent off for chopping Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman. The result matters not: both teams had already qualified.
In the dead rubber match, Hapoel Tel-Aviv collected their first win in a sloppy game that saw Rapid Bucharest miss a penalty kick. Toto Tamuz led the Israelis, scoring from the spot in a counter-attacking game played in frigid conditions. Ciprian Deac made and missed spot-kicks for the Romanians.
