LONDON, 25 February 2006 — Italian clubs AS Roma, Udinese and Palermo all made it to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup on Thursday.

Roma completed a 4-2 aggregate win over FC Brugge; Udinese advanced despite losing 1-0 at French club Lens; and Palermo edged Slavia Prague 1-0 to qualify on away goals.

With captain Francesco Totti missing with a broken leg, Roma led 2-1 from the first leg and went further ahead through Alessandro Amantino in the 55th.

Veteran Belgian striker Gert Verheyen equalized five minutes later, but Cesare Bovo ensured Luciano Spalletti’s team advanced to meet Middlesbrough for a place in the last eight.

Roma’s only European title was the Fairs Cup in 1961.

Coach Luciano Spalletti did not start some of his best players due to Sunday’s derby with city rival Lazio.

“We have been playing all season without important players and so far managed to get around,” Spalletti said.

“Of course things will be more difficult in the next rounds.” Boro made it into the fourth round on away goals after losing 1-0 at home to VfB Stuttgart. Christian Tiffert scored for Stuttgart at the Riverside stadium.

FC Thun and Artmedia Bratislava, which stunned European soccer by reaching the group stage of the Champions League, were both knocked out of the UEFA Cup.

Swiss club Thun lost a 1-0 first-leg advantage after Belgian captain Daniel van Buyten scored two first-half goals for Hamburg in the second leg.

Artmedia, which beat Scottish champion Celtic 5-0 to reach the Champions League group stage for the first time, lost 2-0 at Levski Sofia. Emil Angelov scored both first-half goals for the Bulgarians to advance 3-0 overall.

Thun and Artmedia qualified for the UEFA Cup after coming third in their Champions League group.

FC Basel made it to the last 16 by ousting 2004 Champions League runner-up AS Monaco.

The Swiss club led 1-0 from the first leg, and although Monaco striker Christian Vieri leveled the tie from the penalty spot, Daniel Majstorovic’s second-leg equalizer took Basel through 2-1 overall.

It was a mixed night for the five French clubs. Marseille rallied after Fabien Barthez’s blunder to beat Bolton 2-1.

The veteran ‘keeper dropped a routine cross and Greece midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos scored a simple goal at the Stade Velodrome.

But Franck Ribery leveled in the final minute of the first half, and Bolton’s Israel defender, Tal Ben Haim, turned a cross from Habib Beye into his own net for Marseille’s winner.

Strasborg and Lille had 0-0 draws to join Marseille in the last 16. Strasborg drew with Bulgaria’s Litex Lovech to advance 2-0 overall, and Lille was all square with Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk to qualify 3-2.

But Lens went out despite beating Italy’s Udinese 1-0. The Serie A club had won the first leg 3-0. Denis Godeas scored the second-half winner as Italian club Palermo edged Slavia Prague 1-0 to advance on away goals after the two teams were locked at 2-2 on aggregate.

Daniel Niculae and Mugurel Buga netted second-half strikes as Rapid Bucharest beat Hertha Berlin 2-0 to complete a 3-0 overall triumph.

Two of the three Spanish clubs made it to the last 16.

Seville beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 to triumph 3-0 overall but Real Betis needed an extra time goal by Juan Andreu Melli to oust AS Alkmaar. The Dutch club had canceled out Betis’ 2-0 first leg lead to force extra time but Melli’s strike put the Spanish club through 3-2 overall. There was no joy for Espanyol, however. Already 2-1 down from the first leg, it tumbled 3-0 at home to Germany’s Schalke.