SOCCER - EUROPA LEAGUE
2011/12
Group K - Odense BK (2) @ (2) Fulham - Fulham entered the game knowing that only a win would see them guaranteed to progress to the next round. 2 goals in the 1st half from Clint Dempsey and Kerim Frei gave the home team a cushion at the break. But Odense fought back into the game with a 2nd half goal from Hans Henrik Andreasen before Odense sensationally rescued the game with a last play goal from Dijby Fall. The draw, coupled with a Wisla Krakow win over FC Twente, meant that Fulham were knocked out of the competition (9, Slight pixellation due to weather, 2 Discs, CH5 - Woods/Taylor, PAL)
2nd Round, 1st Leg - Atletico Madrid (3) @ (1) Lazio - Atletico Madrid put 1 foot into the next round with a come-from-behind win in Rome. Lazio survived early Atletico attacks to take the lead with a goal from Miroslav Klose but Atletico took control of the game with 3 unanswered goals from Adrian and Falcao (2). Despite late pressure from Lazio, Atletico held on for the win. Coverage includes 2 minutes of hi-lites of the 2nd leg (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Proudfoot/Pleat, PAL)
2nd Round, 1st Leg - Manchester City (2) @ (1) Porto - In the hostile confines of the Estadio do Dragao, City scored 2 goals in the 2nd half to take a winning margin back to Manchester for the 2nd Leg. Porto led 1-0 at the half with a goal from Silvestre Varela but City turned up the tempo in the 2nd half and forced an own-goal from Alvaro Pereira before Sergio Aguero, on for Mario Ballotelli, scored the match-winner in the 84th minute (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Drury/Beglin, PAL)
2nd Round, 2nd Leg - Porto (0) @ (4) Manchester City - City advanced to next round with a comprehensive win over the reigning Europa League champions. Sergio Aguero gave City a dream start with a goal in 19 seconds but City had to wait until the 76th minute for the deciding goal from Edin Dzeko. 2 late goals from David Silva and David Pizarro finished the scoring (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Champion/Waddle, PAL)
Last 16, 2nd Leg - Sporting Lisbon (2) @ (3) Manchester City - City crashed out of Europe despite a frantic fightback in the 2nd Leg. Sporting led 1-0 after the 1st leg and increased their lead to 3-0 with 1st half goals from Matias Fernandez and Ricky van Wolfswinkel. City needed 4 goals to go through to the next round and piled on the pressure in the 2nd half with goals from Sergio Aguero (2) and Mario Ballotelli but couldn't find the breakthrough goal. With the last play of the game, City goalkeeper Joe Hart had a chance to score the winner but his header was spectacularly saved and City were out (10, 2 Discs, ESPN UK - Champion/Burley, PAL)
Last 16, 2nd Leg - Manchester United (1) @ (2) Athletic Bilbao - Athletic ended United's run in the Europa League with a home win that secured a 5-3 aggregate result. Goals from Fernando Llorente (a great finish) and Oscar de Marcos did the damage although Wayne Rooney managed to pull back a goal 10 minutes from time with a thunderous shot from outside the box. Although United needed to score 2 goals to win the tie, Athletic still out-shot the Reds by 12 shots to 3 (10, 2 Discs, CH5 - Woods/Collymore, PAL)
Quarter Final, 1st Leg - Athletic Bilbao (4) @ (2) Schalke 04 - Athletic took control of the tie with a goal flurry at the end of the game that saw them put 1 foot in the Semi-Final. With 17 minutes left, Schalke led 2-1 with 2 goals from Raul off-set by a reply from Fernando Llorente. But Bilbao surged forward and Llorente again scored, followed by goals from Oscar de Marcos and Iker Muniaín that stunned Schalke (10, 2 Discs, CH5 - Woods/Collymore, PAL)
Quarter Final, 2nd Leg - Schalke 04 (2) @ (2) Athletic Bilbao - Athletic continued their great form in Europe, holding off Schalke to reach their 1st European trophy Semi-Final since 1977. A great game of attacking football saw Schalke score through goals from Klass Jan Huntelaar and Raul (his 76th in all European competitions) but Athletic sealed the aggregate win with goals from Ibai Gómez and Markel Susaeta (10, 2 Discs, CH5 - Woods/Collymore, PAL)
Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Sporting Lisbon (1) @ (3) Athletic Bilbao - Atheltic booked their place in the Final with a later winner at the San Mames Stadium. Both teams went for the win straight from kick-off and Athletic took a 2-1 lead in at the half with goals from Markel Susaeta and Ibai Gomez, off-set by a goal from Ricky van Wolfswinkel. Neither team could find the break-through in the 2nd half and extra-time seemed inevitable when Fernando Llorente scored with 2 minutes left to put Bilbao into their 1st European Final since 1977 (10, 2 Discs, CH5 - Woods/Nevin, PAL)
Final - Atletico Madrid (3) v (0) Athletic Bilbao - Atletico Madrid claimed their 2nd Europa League title in 3 years with a comprehensive display against fellow Spaniards, Athletic Bilbao. Atletico harried the free-flowing Bilbao team and limited their chances while taking their own. The Atletico goals came from Falcao (2) and Diego, with Falcao's goals great finishes. The game was played in the new National Stadium of Romania in Bucharest (10, 2 Discs, CH5 - Woods/Collymore, PAL)