LONDONm 26 August 2004 — Inter Milan and Monaco rattled up convincing wins but Liverpool lost at home as all three clubs reached the Champions League’s lucrative group phase on Tuesday.
Inter, who drew 1-1 in Basel a fortnight ago, made no mistake at San Siro with a 4-1 win in the second leg of their third qualifying round tie, while last season’s finalists Monaco crushed 10-man Nova Gorica 6-0 for a 9-0 aggregate win.
Liverpool suffered their first competitive defeat under new Spanish coach Rafael Benitez, going down 1-0 at Anfield to Graz AK but surviving the upset with a 2-1 aggregate win.
Shelbourne’s dreams of becoming the first club to reach the group phase from the opening qualifying round were shattered by the Irish side’s 3-0 defeat at Deportivo Coruna, while Anderlecht went through 3-1 on aggregate after trouncing 10-man Benfica 3-0.
Rosenborg Trondheim beat two floodlight failures to qualify with a thrilling 3-2 away victory after extra time over 10-man Maccabi Haifa, having won the home leg 2-1. The six clubs will be joined in today’s draw in Monaco.
Schalke, Villarreal, Lille Reach
UEFA Cup First Round
Villarreal qualified for the UEFA Cup first round after edging out Atletico Madrid on penalties in one of the three Intertoto Cup finals on Tuesday. The match in Madrid went to extra time after Atletico had leveled the aggregate score at 2-2 through Argentine forward Ariel Ibagaza just after half time and defender Jose Antonio Garcia Calvo on 58 minutes.
Midfielder Jorge also missed a penalty in normal time for Atletico and Villarreal, who reached the UEFA Cup semifinals last season, held their nerve in the shootout to go through.
Schalke 04 will join the Spanish side in tomorrow’s draw in Monaco after winning 1-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate at Czech side Slovan Liberec. Brazilian Ailton scored the late goal.
Lille beat Uniao Leiria 2-0 after extra time to win 2-0 on aggregate. Matt Moussilou netted after 104 minutes and fellow striker Milenko Acimovic wrapped up the victory four minutes from the end of extra time.
Zaragoza Sweep Past Valencia
to Win Super Cup
In Madrid, cup winners Real Zaragoza claimed the first silverware of the Spanish season when they swept to a 3-1 victory over league champions Valencia to lift the Super Cup on Tuesday.
An early goal from Brazilian defender Alvaro allowed the visitors to wipe out their first-leg deficit and Argentine winger Luciano Galletti put them in the driving seat with a well-taken strike just past the half hour.
Valencia pulled one back when Italy striker Bernardo Corradi drilled in early in the second half, but Zaragoza center-forward Javi Moreno put the result beyond when he netted with a fine glancing header seven minutes from time.
“We were confident that we could come back after the first leg and things worked out perfectly with three good goals,” said Zaragoza coach Victor Munoz. “We certainly deserved to win this trophy.”
Visitors Zaragoza made an impressive start as they deprived the home side of possession and pushed forward in search of any early goal.
They got their reward after 11 minutes when Alvaro headed home a curling cross from Brazilian winger Savio at the far post.
Zaragoza doubled their lead on 34 minutes when Galletti darted on to a sharp through ball from David Villa and fired a stinging shot inside keeper Santiago Canizares at the near post.
With his side needing to score twice, Valencia coach Claudio Ranieri threw on Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar after the break and the UEFA Cup winners immediately started to look more dangerous.
They pulled a goal back eight minutes into the second half when new signing Corradi drilled home from 12 meters after Portuguese full-back Marco Caneira had cut the ball back from the byline. But former Atletico Madrid striker Moreno ended any hopes of a Valencia comeback when he nodded in at the near post after a corner to seal the 3-2 aggregate win and a first ever Super Cup trophy for Zaragoza.
Six Italian Players Banned
in Match-Fixing Cases
In Milan, six players from Italy’s top two divisions have been banned for their role in gambling-related match-fixing, the Italian Football League said yesterday.
Modena, who were relegated last season, will start their Serie B campaign with five points deducted following Wednesday’s decision by the League’s disciplinary commission.
Sampdoria defender Stefano Bettarini, who played once for Italy last season, received a five-month ban and his club has been handed a 15,000 euro ($18,140) fine. Prosecutors had asked for Bettarini to be banned for three years.
The League has been probing several matches from last season’s Serie A and B championships after investigating intercepted telephone and text messages.
Giuseppe Papadopulo, who was coach of Serie A club Siena last season, was banned for five months and the club’s defender Roberto D’Avera was given six months. The heaviest punishments came for two players who are currently without clubs — former Modena midfielder Antonio Marasco has been banned for three years and former Siena goalkeeper Generoso Rossi for one year.
