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UEFA Cup wrap: Villarreal stun Celtic
European debutants Villarreal set up an all-Spanish UEFA Cup semi-final with regional rivals Valencia after ending Celtic's bid to reach successive finals on Wednesday.
'For us to meet Valencia in the semis is a really important step for a club like ours, said Villarreal coach Francisco 'Paquito' Garcia. 'I was a player at Valencia and hold the club close to my heart but now I'm with Villarreal and, of course, I want them to win.' 'The club has never made a semi-final like this in its history and we're going to make sure we enjoy it and at the same time make life as difficult as possible for Valencia.' Primera Liga leaders Valencia, Champions League runners-up in 2000 and 2001, booked their place in the last four by easing past Girondins Bordeaux 2-1 at home to go through 4-2 overall. Former European champions Olympique Marseille will play England's Newcastle United in the other semi-final. A second-half goal from Camel Meriem handed Ligue 1 Marseille a 1-0 victory over three-times winners Inter at the San Siro to seal a 2-0 passage. It was Inter's first defeat against French opposition in 10 European ties and leaves Italy without a representative in the semi-finals of either of the two European club competitions. Newcastle, who last tasted European success in 1969 when they lifted the Fairs Cup, the forerunner to the UEFA Cup, sunk PSV Eindhoven 2-1 at St James' Park to go through 3-2 over the two legs. Villarreal kept up their record of not conceding a goal at home in their first season in European competition by shutting out Celtic who lost last year's final to Porto, the Portuguese side who have reached this year's Champions League semi-finals. Villarreal, who have now taken the scalps of Celtic, AS Roma, Galatasaray, Torpedo Moscow and Trabzonspor, stunned the Scottish side before they had even settled. Right back Belletti sent a high cross into the box from just past the halfway line and former Barcelona and Olympique Lyon striker Anderson stole between the centre-backs to head over the advancing goalkeeper David Marshall after six minutes. Anderson missed another good chance two minutes before the interval but he made up for that when he laid on the second for Roger to volley home in the 68th minute. The one disappointment for Villarreal came from the second-half booking of captain Rodolfo Arruabarrena, who will miss the first leg of the semi-final on April 22. A fine solo goal from Marseille's Meriem, who burst from inside his own half and unleashed a low shot past Francesco Toldo, took the 1999 beaten finalists through against lacklustre Inter. The Serie A side could have few complaints after struggling to turn their midfield possession into clear cut chances against a rock solid Marseille defence. 'We've now beaten Liverpool and Inter so I think we're allowed to dream of winning this Cup,' said Marseille coach Jose Anigo. Newcastle took an early lead against PSV when former England forward Alan Shearer headed home a Lauren Robert corner at the near post on nine minutes. Prolific Serbia and Montenegro striker Mateja Kezman hauled the Dutch side level with a penalty seven minutes after the break after Olivier Bernard chopped down Park Ji-sung. But Gary Speed took Newcastle through when he headed home another Robert corner after 66 minutes. 'I said before the first leg of this tie that one goal would be the difference between the two sides... and so it proved,' said Newcastle manager Bobby Robson who once coached PSV. Second-half goals from Mauricio Pellegrino and Francisco Rufete secured Valencia's passage at the Mestalla against Bordeaux, who replied through Eduardo Costa. The semi-final first and second leg ties take place on April 22 and May 6. The final is in Gothenburg on May 19. |
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