..::Football III::..

[Wolverine GTR]

Giggs shrugs off Manchester United management reports

Ryan Giggs has moved to play down talk that he could replace David Moyes as Manchester United manager this season.

The 40-year-old played the full 90 minutes on Wednesday night as United beat Olympiakos 3-0 to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Certain figures behind the scenes at Old Trafford expect Giggs to be installed as boss before the end of the season, should Moyes be sacked.

But when quizzed about the possibility of taking over from the Scot after the game, Giggs insisted he is focusing on his playing career.

"I don't know anything about that," he replied when asked by Sky Italia. "As you can see tonight I enjoy playing my football, and want to continue playing my football.

"This season wasn't what we expected. We need to play better, like we did tonight."

Giggs also hopes the victory over the Greek champions could turn around United's season.

"It's a good night for us," he added. "Three days ago we lost here to Liverpool. We scored three and stopped Olympiakos scoring.

"We hope this can turn around our season."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

No shocks in Champions League as seeds power into quarter-finals

There were no shocks in the Uefa Champions League round of 16 as every one of the eight group winners progressed to the quarter-finals for the first time in the competition's modern history.

Of the eight quarter-finalists, only Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are outside the financial elite when it comes to the last-eight competitors, suggesting a favourable turn-out for the clubs which benefitted from the initial group-stage draw.

Dortmund and Manchester United endured some nervous moments on Wednesday against Zenit and Olympiakos respectively, but both ultimately came through to book the last two places in the last eight.

David Moyes' side are through to their 13th Champions League quarter-final as their 3-0 victory saw them become only the 2nd team to lose a first leg 2-0 and still progress.

United and Dortmund - who edged out Zenit 5-4 on aggregate despite a 2-1 second-leg defeat - join Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the hat for the quarter-final draw on Friday.

You can follow all the action and reaction from Friday's draw in Nyon on Goal, with proceedings set to get underway at 12:00CET.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Lewandowski: Dortmund far from perfect

Borussia Dortmund forward Robert Lewandowski says his side must improve following their 2-1 defeat to Zenit in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday.

BVB progressed 5-4 on aggregate thanks to a 4-2 victory in St Petersburg in the first leg, despite losing on home soil on the night thanks to goals from Hulk and Salomon Rondon.

And Lewy, who was booked this evening and will now suffer a one-match suspension, has warned that last year's runners-up must be better in the next round.

"It was not the perfect match by us," he was quoted as saying by Uefa.com.

"We know we need to do a better job than this, but it is only important that we are through to the next round. Unfortunately I will miss the first leg of the quarter-final due to a suspension."

Team-mate Kevin Großkreutz agreed with the Polan international, but expressed his delight at progressing to the quarter-finals and is already eyeing a meeting with Barcelona.

"We were not compact enough in defence," Großkreutz told Sky.

"Zenit played well, they are a skilled team. But what matters is that we progressed to the next round.

"Barcelona would not be too bad. I've never played against them yet."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Rooney: Olympiakos comeback can trigger special end to season

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is hoping that Wednesday's Champions League win over Olympiakos will be the catalyst for a "special" end to the season.

The Red Devils fought back from a two-goal first-leg deficit to beat the Greek champions 3-0 at Old Trafford, with a hat-trick from Robin van Persie sending United through to the last eight.

Rooney played a vital role in the victory that has helped ease the pressure on manager David Moyes and the England international believes that the Premier League champions owed their manager a performance.

He told Sky Sports: "Of course we did [owed Moyes a result and performance]. We owed ourselves a good result. The fans, the manager, everyone. This is a great result and hopefully this will kickstart our season and we can start something really special."

When asked what was the key to victory, Rooney added: "Just desire to win. The fans were fantastic against Liverpool and again tonight they were brilliant and they deserve this. It was a big result, a big performance and we're delighted for them."

United now join Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Dortmund and Bayern Munich in the draw for the quarter-finals, which takes place on March 21, with the first legs to be played on April 1 and 2.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Tottenham boss Sherwood bites back at Van Gaal

Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood has taken a dig at Louis van Gaal for "shouting loud enough" about his interest in taking over at White Hart Lane after the World Cup.

Van Gaal has been strongly linked with the Spurs job and on Wednesday reaffirmed his desire to manage at a "top team in the Premier League" when he steps down as Netherlands coach after the World Cup.

But Sherwood dismissed the 62-year-old’s claims in his pre-match press conference ahead of the second leg of Tottenham's Europa League tie against Benfica.

"He's obviously destined to want to manage in England," said Sherwood.

"He's got a good track record and he's a good manager. I'm sure he'll get his opportunity - he's been shouting loud enough for it.

"My future's out of my hands. I believe I'll be here next year. I'm planning for next season. The players are playing for their futures."

Sherwood also moved to play down claims from Dnipro president Ihor Kolomoyskyi that Spurs are 'perhaps close to signing a contract' for winger Yevhen Konoplyanka, who almost joined Liverpool in January.

"He's obviously a player who's been linked with the club because he's a good player," Sherwood continued. "He's certainly one who's being talked about, but there's nothing definitive.

"I think we have to make sure we see a lot more of these guys before they come in, not just the highlights because we've got to make sure we do our recruitment job on them."

Pressed over whether the club were pushing forward with a deal for Konoplyanka, Sherwood added: "Not at the moment.

"Nobody else will come in here unless I sanction it. You can't work any other way.
"The manager has got to work with the players so, unless he gets the players he wants, it's always going to be an uphill task. He will always have the excuse of 'well they're not my players'."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Moyes: Manchester United can win Champions League

Manchester United manager David Moyes believes that his side can go on to win the Champions League after securing their passage to the last eight of the tournament with a 3-0 over Olympiakos.

The Red Devils went through thanks to a Robin van Persie hat-trick to bounce back from their humiliating defeat at home to Liverpool on Sunday.

Moyes admits that the reigning Premier League champions will likely be underdogs in the competition hereafter but insists that they have the ability to secure the club's fourth European Cup.

"Depending how the draw goes but we will go in as underdogs for a lot of matches," he replied when asked by the press if they could lift the trophy, "but I genuinely believe this football club is capable of it.

"If we play to our capabilities, which we have not done enough, we can be a match for any team.

"I don't want to come out and say 'this is the moment' but I really hope it is."

Moyes praised his side for the victory over the Greek champions, enthusing: "It was a magnificent team performance. We carried no passengers. Everybody fought their corner and I thought we played well. We played good football.
"There was a real tempo to our play which we've not seen a lot at Old Trafford this season."

The United boss also reserved praise for Ryan Giggs after the Welshman delivered a sublime performance in midfield.

The veteran, who has been rumoured as a potential short-term replacement for Moyes in recent weeks, had not started a match since January 7 prior to the win over Michel's side.

"His two passes made two of the goals. His passing was fantastic and his all-round play was fantastic. He defies his age. He's a great player," said Moyes.

"He is 40 years old and I need to be looking to the future. I'm trying to give everyone opportunities. Tactically I needed him to play a certain role which he knew and he understands. He carried that out with his assists for the goals."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Olympiacos match 1ke performance nam PattaHoda comeback 1kak

Habai ithin thawa thawath improve wenna oneQuarter-Finals wala meeta wada tough match 1kak balaporotthu wenna puluwan

Bayern,Barcelona,Real Madrid,PSG,Dortmund,Chelsea,Atletico Madrid.Oya teams walin mona team 1ka set unath tough ma gemak yai.​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Easy as one, two, three for RVP and Dortmund progress despite defeat - Wednesday's Champions League in pictures

It was a dramatic night of Champions League football at Old Trafford as Manchester United managed to overturn their first-leg defeat against Olympiakos courtesy of a Robin van Persie hat-trick, while plucky Zenit St Petersburg couldn't quite do the same in Dortmund, falling just short with a 5-4 aggregate loss.

Goal takes a look at the best of the imagery from the final round of Champions League last-16 second-leg fixtures...

Dortmund colours were flying in the Yellow Wall ahead of the second leg at Signal Iduna Park

Zenit needed to gather all their strength to overturn a 4-2 defeat in the first leg

The travelling supporters in Dortmund cause controversy by burning a Germany flag in the stands

On the field, Zenit got off to a perfect start courtesy of a 16th-minute strike from Hulk

The Brazilian forward produced an absolute thunderbolt from 30 yards for the opening goal

After an encouraging from Manchester United, they were offered a lifeline on 25 minutes

Robin van Persie was bundled over in the area after taking a long ball from Ryan Giggs on his chest

The Dutchman dusted himself off to calmly slot home the penalty kick

Robert Lewandowski received a yellow card for trying to earn Borussia Dortmund a penalty

Dortmund grabbed a vital goal in the 40th minute when Sebastian Kehl's header found the net

On the stroke of half-time United went two up as Van Persie slotted home Wayne Rooney's pass

Just after the break the Old Trafford outfit were awarded a free kick outside the 18-yard box

Rooney stepped over the ball and Van Persie used his left boot to curl a shot beyond the wall

Olympiakos keeper Roberto appeared to be wrong footed and Van Persie celebrated his hat-trick

Nerves were jangling at Signal Iduna Park as Jose Rondon headed home a cross from Criscito

Rondon's header made it 5-4 on aggregate with 15 minutes remaining on the clock

40-year-old Ryan Giggs played 90 minutes and was highly influencial in United's performance

Van Persie was stretchered off in the 90th minute after being clattered in the back of the leg

Blood, sweat and tears for Zenit as Tomas Hubocan was caught by Lewandowski late on

The full-time whistle at the Theatre of Dreams was greeted with wild celebrations

Relief for David Moyes who saluted the supporters as his team went into the quarter-final draw

Dortmund clung onto their Champions League dream as Jurgen Klopp's side also progress​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

UEFA Europa League 2014.03.20 2nd Leg Fixtures

UEFA Europa League 2014.03.20 2nd Leg Fixtures

Anzi Vs Alkmaar

Benfica Vs Tottenham

Fiorentina Vs Juventus

Valencia Vs Ludogorets

Viktoria Plzen Vs Lyon

Napoli Vs Porto

Real Betis Vs Sevilla

Salzburg Vs Basel​

 

[unicornx]

UEFA Champions League 2014.03.20 2nd Leg Fixtures

Anzi Vs Alkmaar

Benfica Vs Tottenham

Fiorentina Vs Juventus

Valencia Vs Ludogorets

Viktoria Plzen Vs Lyon

Napoli Vs Porto

Real Betis Vs Sevilla

Salzburg Vs Basel​

Europa league neda?

 

[unicornx]

hulkge goal ekanan patta

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Europa league neda?

Afffa ow bro my mistakeonna correct kalaThank's bro inform kalata

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Real Betis 0-2 Sevilla (Agg 2-2, Pens 3-4): Hosts pay the penalty as Emery's side force comeback win

Nono's penalty miss for Real Betis gifted Sevilla a place in the Europa League last eight after a stunning second-leg comeback.

The visitors won 2-0 on the night to overturn Betis' first-leg lead and then held their nerve in the penalty shoot-out, winning 4-3 despite Vitolo missing their first kick.

Goals from Jose Antonio Reyes and Carlos Bacca either side of the break on Thursday inflicted Betis' first home defeat of the season in Europe and it was Sevilla who prevailed from 12 yards, as Alfred N'Diaye and Nono let Vitolo off the hook.

The result marked the first time Sevilla have overturned a first-leg home defeat in European competition, leaving the hosts to focus on their battle for La Liga survival.

Having lost the first leg to goals from Leo Baptistao and Salva Sevilla, Unai Emery named a bold starting XI at Benito Villamarin, with Bacca and Kevin Gameiro starting together in attack.

With Betis sitting on the first-leg lead, the visitors were invited forward right from the start and they went close to finding the net in the 11th minute, but Gameiro narrowly failed to reach Bacca's low cross.

Sevilla attacked relentlessly in the opening stages and took a deserved lead 20 minutes in as Reyes slotted Alberto Moreno's left-wing delivery into the bottom-left corner.

Gabriel Calderon's Betis struggled to create any kind of momentum but will count themselves unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty just after the half-hour mark, with the ball appearing to strike Diogo Figueiras on the arm.

Betis' aggregate lead was almost wiped out three minutes into the second period as Stephane M'Bia played a one-two with Gameiro before shooting straight at Adan from point-blank range.

After a nervous start to the second half, Betis started to show more attacking intent as Ruben Castro headed wide 55 minutes in, before Baptistao struck just wide from 25 yards less than a minute later.

Sevilla goalkeeper Beto kept his side in with a shout thanks to a crucial stop in the 64th minute, parrying Baptistao's half-volley after a clever chipped pass by Nono.

And the away side drew level on aggregate 15 minutes from time as Moreno exploited space down the left before drilling a low cross into the danger area for Bacca to knock past Adan unchallenged.

With the score level after 90 minutes, the match entered extra-time and Sevilla should have clinched the tie.

Adan pulled off an excellent stop when one-on-one with Gameiro, before palming away Bacca's headed effort on the rebound.

The Betis keeper saved from Vitolo to give the hosts the early edge in the shoot-out, but N'Diaye struck the post and Nono dragged wide to give Sevilla a place in the quarter-finals.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Salzburg 1-2 Basel (Agg 1-2): Streller & Sauro send Swiss through in thrilling tie

Basel fought back from a goal down with 10 men in a volatile and thrilling clash to eliminate Salzburg from the Europa League 2-1 on Thursday.

In a bad-tempered game that saw the players leave the pitch for 13 minutes in the first half due to crowd unrest and eventually finished with both sides down a man, Basel responded superbly to Marek Suchy's ninth-minute dismissal for a crude tackle.

Jonatan Soriano put Salzburg ahead before Marco Streller and Gaston Sauro scored twice in the space of 10 second-half minutes to turn the last 16-tie on its head as Basel wrapped up a 2-1 aggregate win.

On a night of high drama in Austria on Thursday, Basel fans - frustrated at falling behind to Soriano's goal and Suchy's red card - threw objects when Salzburg's players tried to take corners, an incident that led to them leaving the pitch until things calmed down.

Controversy was never far away after the restart and Basel's Arlind Ajeti was lucky not to see red for an apparent headbutt. And he made the most of his good fortune by setting up Sauro to head in a 60th-minute winner to kill the game off.

Salzburg's misery was compounded four minutes from time when Alan received a second yellow and was dismissed.

The first-leg stalemate ended Salzburg's 10-game European winning run dating back to the start of this season's play-offs, but the home side started positively with both Sadio Mane and Kevin Kampl firing wide.

And Basel's task became even tougher after eight minutes when Suchy was shown a straight red card after catching Alan late from behind.

Roger Schmidt's side went about their task with added zest following Suchy's dismissal and Kampl should have ended a flowing move with a goal only to completely miss Mane's low cross with the net at his mercy.

And they made their numerical advantage count when Kampl crossed for Soriano to volley in from close range.

Mane should have doubled the lead but Yann Sommer tipped his effort over.

Frustration boiled over for Basel's fans as they threw objects at the Salzburg players while they were taking corners. And, despite the pleas of Streller, the situation did not improve and the home side walked off in protest.

After 13 minutes, play resumed and Philipp Degen saw an effort deflected on to the roof of the net.

Basel regrouped at half-time and Streller claimed a vital away goal with a superb back-post header.

Just after gaining the advantage in the tie, Basel were lucky not to be punished for a moment of madness when Ajeti seemed to headbutt Alan, but got away with a booking.

Lucky to still be on the pitch, Ajeti grabbed his reprieve with both hands and played a pivotal part in Basel taking the lead when he nodded a deep corner back across goal for Sauro to head in.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Napoli 2-2 Porto (Agg 2-3): Quaresma wondergoal sends Benitez's side crashing out

A sensational strike from Ricardo Quaresma helped Porto to a 2-2 draw with Napoli on Thursday and seal a 3-2 aggregate victory in the Europa League last 16.

The winger scored a stunning solo effort shortly after Nabil Ghilas had equalised on the night following Goran Pandev's well-taken early goal.

Napoli, who dominated the first hour of the encounter, spurned a number of chances to double their lead and were ultimately made to pay by the Portuguese giants, who advance into Friday's quarter-final draw, although they did manage a late consolation through Duvan Zapata.

Napoli head coach Rafael Benitez had described the tie as "like a final" in the build-up and his side rose to the occasion in the first half to lead thanks to Pandev's calm finish.

But Porto's quick turnaround in the second half ended the Spaniard's hopes of winning the Europa League for the second straight year, following his triumph with Chelsea in the 2013 final.

Napoli began the match at a quick tempo and created two chances in the opening 10 minutes. Dries Mertens was first denied by Fernando's fine last-ditch tackle, before Lorenzo Insigne stung the palms of Porto goalkeeper Fabiano.

Benitez's men continued to control play and full-back Henrique flashed a half-volley across the face of goal after quarter of an hour.

And Napoli's early pressure paid dividends in the 21st minute, as Benitez's men deservedly levelled the tie on aggregate.

Gonzalo Higuain held the ball up on the edge of the area before his neat throughball found Pandev's clever run into the box and the forward provided a delicate finish past Fabiano.

Porto sought an equaliser, but it took 33 minutes for the visitors to threaten Pepe Reina's goal, when Quaresma's corner was headed wide at the back post by Martinez.

The lively Insigne then threatened to put Napoli ahead as he cut inside Danilo from the left and flashed a shot wide of the near post.

The diminutive forward went close again early in the second half, but his downward header at the back post was expertly saved by Fabiano at point-blank range.

Porto had offered little going forward, yet nearly snatched a goal in the 57th minute when Quaresma's free kick was glanced narrowly wide by Carlos Eduardo.

Napoli then had two good chances to take the lead in the tie through Higuain and Mertens before their wastefulness was duly punished.

First, Ghilas – who had replaced Silvestre Varela - sprung the offside trap to receive Fernando's superb throughball and keep his composure to slot firmly past Reina.

And, with just under 15 minutes remaining, Quaresma weaved his way through the defence before unleashing into the roof of Reina's goal following some excellent build-up from Porto.

Napoli clinched a draw on the night in injury time when Jose Callejon's ball across the six-yard box was tapped home by Zapata, but it was too little, too late for the hosts.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Benfica 2-2 Tottenham (Agg 5-3): Chadli-inspired comeback not enough for Spurs

Tottenham's second-leg fightback was in vain as Benfica progressed to the quarter-finals of the Europa League with a 2-2 draw in Lisbon.

The hosts looked on course for a comfortable 1-0 win at the Estadio da Luz thanks to Ezequiel Garay's thunderous first-half header after winning the first leg 3-1 at White Hart Lane.

Yet there was a dramatic ending as Nacer Chadli's quick-fire double threatened a late Spurs comeback but Lima's last-gasp penalty denied the London club victory on the night as Benfica remained on course for a second consecutive Europa League final.

Jorge Jesus's Primeira Liga leaders can now look forward to the quarter-finals after a 5-3 aggregate victory, while Tottenham's gutsy exit may alleviate some of the pressure on boss Tim Sherwood.

Benfica missed a great opportunity to extend their aggregate lead as early as the ninth minute when Garay nodded the ball into the path of centre-back partner Luisao but he could only head over the crossbar from eight yards out when unmarked.

That miss could have been punished by Roberto Soldado six minutes later when the Spanish striker controlled the ball at the back post before his half-volley went down into the turf and wide of the target.

It was an open contest and Tottenham spurned another chance to take the lead after 26 minutes, with Chadli heading Gylfi Sigurdsson's corner wide.

Benfica took advantage of the visitors' wasteful finishing in the 34th minute as Eduardo Salvio ghosted past stand-in captain Aaron Lennon on the right before clipping an inviting cross into the box, which Garay finished with a thumping header.

The visitors looked comfortable in possession for the remainder of the opening period and continued that trend in the second half. Luisao could have had his third goal of the tie in the 58th minute when he leapt highest to head Miralem Sulejmani's corner wide.

With tie seemingly petering out to a Benfica win, Tottenham turned the game on its head after 78 minutes as Chadli cut in from the right flank and rifled a right-footed shot into the far corner.

Just a minute later Chadli scored his second when he spun on the spot and hooked his shot in the top-right corner.

There was further drama in the closing stages when Suljmani felled substitute Harry Kane in the area but the referee did not award the penalty.

Benfica were then grateful to goalkeeper Jan Oblak deep into injury time as first he kept out Sigurdsson's header with a fine point-blank save before holding Kane's tame header.

The hosts then settled the game as Lima equalised from the spot, after Sandro had fouled the midfielder in the area.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Soldado gen Tottenham lata loku deyak wennne naha neda

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Fiorentina 0-1 Juventus (Agg 1-2): Pirlo pearler sends Conte's side through

Juventus sealed a 2-1 aggregate win over bitter Italian rivals Fiorentina after Andrea Pirlo's superb strike gave them a 1-0 win at the Artemio Franchi on Thursday.Pirlo has won every major Italian domestic trophy and has experienced much success in European football, but has yet to taste glory in the continent's second tier competition.

But the 34-year-old's hopes of adding that trophy to his list of honours are still intact after he helped Juve overcome Fiorentina for the second time this month, scoring from a free kick again after netting a late winner against Genoa in similar fashion at the weekend.

Juve beat Vincenzo Montella's men 1-0 in Serie A, but it was the hosts who held a potentially crucial away goal going into the game after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Turin.

Fiorentina had dictated play for much of Thursday's encounter, but the last-16 tie turned midway through the second half when the Florence club saw skipper Gonzalo Rodriguez dismissed after conceding the crucial free kick on the edge of the area.

Pirlo capitalised on the opportunity presented to him, finding the top corner from the set-piece to seal progress to the quarter-finals for Antonio Conte's men 2-1 on aggregate.

Carlos Tevez returned to the Juve starting XI after missing the first leg and the win over Genoa on Sunday, while Mario Gomez was preferred to Alessandro Matri at the head of the Fiorentina attack.

Fiorentina almost made the ideal start inside the first two minutes when Gomez – who scored the equaliser in the first encounter - raced through on goal, but the German could only scuff his shot wide.

The visitors gradually worked their way into the game, although Juve struggled to create any goalscoring opportunities in the first half.

Instead, it was Montella's men who continued to look the more dangerous, David Pizarro's long-range drive forcing Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon into a fine reflex save just before the half-hour mark.

Tevez and Paul Pogba then drew routine saves from Neto in the Fiorentina goal, before Pirlo curled over with an ambitious free kick from range.

Buffon was the busier of the two keepers for much of the encounter and needed to be on his guard again to keep out a powerful swerving strike from Juan Cuadrado early in the second half.

Yet Juve remained a threat, spurning a glorious opportunity as Arturo Vidal headed narrowly over from Chilean compatriot Mauricio Isla.

However, Juve's hopes were significantly boosted on 69 minutes as Rodriguez was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Fernando Llorente.

And Conte's men immediately took advantage as Pirlo slammed the resulting free kick into the top corner beyond a helpless Neto.

From there Juve were able to take complete control of the contest and were denied a second when Neto produced a fantastic stop from Tevez's close-range header, but the Italian champions held on to maintain their hopes of reaching the final on home turf.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Juventus godak durata Europa League Finals set wei

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Viktoria Plzen 2-1 Lyon (Agg 3-5): Les Gones withstand late rally to dump out Czechs

Despite a 2-1 loss to Viktoria Plzen on Thursday evening, Lyon progressed to the quarter finals of the Europa League having recorded a 5-3 win over two legs.

Trailing 4-1 from the first leg against a side previously unbeaten in the competition this season, Plzen looked dead and buried on Thursday when Bafetimbi Gomis scored his 19th goal of the season in first-half stoppage time.

Daniel Kolar and Stanislav Tecl netted within two minutes of each other around the hour mark to give Plzen hope, but the latter then fluffed his lines when presented with a glorious chance to cut the overall deficit to one goal as his penalty struck a post.

That came as a fatal blow to Plzen's hopes of a remarkable comeback, but they did inflict the first European defeat in 10 matches this season on their Ligue 1 visitors.

Remi Garde's side were without last week's two-goal hero Gueida Fofana through injury, and were almost behind early on but Kolar scuffed wide from six yards.

The Czech champions knew an early goal was necessary if they were to claw back the three-goal deficit and nearly got the breakthrough when Tomas Horava's 25-yard effort took a deflection before squirming just wide with Anthony Lopes struggling.

Gomis saw his shot from a narrow angle blocked but Lyon's attacks were rare and it was Plzen who again threatened through Milan Petrzela, the midfielder controlling a high ball brilliantly before lashing over from close range.

For all Plzen's efforts, Lyon carved out the best chance of the half after 27 minutes. Yoann Gourcuff's superb free-kick was headed against the post by Corentin Tolisso and the rebound fell to Jimmy Briand, who somehow missed the target with the goal at his mercy.

Anthony Lopes then produced a stunning save to keep the second-leg scores level, somehow keeping out Marian Cisovsky's close-range volley.

And that proved pivotal as Lyon seemingly put the tie beyond the hosts' reach in first-half stoppage time, Gomis cutting in from the right before steering a low shot into the bottom-left corner with precision.

To their credit, Plzen fought on and Anthony Lopes saved superbly again from Cisovsky before the Czechs turned the match on its head.

First, Kolar latched on to Patrik Hrosovsky's pass to emphatically rifle home, and after 62 minutes Tecl was on hand to direct a header in off the post from close range.

They had the chance to put serious pressure on the visitors 20 minutes from time when Mouhamadou Dabo tripped Michal Duris in the box, but Tecl's penalty cannoned back off the woodwork and Lyon held on to reach the last eight.