Defending champions Liverpool survived a Champions League scare on Tuesday before booking their place in the multimillion-dollar group stages where they will be joined by a little-known Swiss team who were playing amateur football nine years ago.
Five-time winners Liverpool were decidedly under-par at Anfield where a 1-0 defeat to CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria in their final qualifying round, second leg tie, didn’t prevent them progressing 3-2 on aggregate.
A 16th-minute goal from Valentin Iliev sentenced Liverpool to their first Champions League home defeat for 12 months, but coach Rafael Benitez’s decision to rest several key players backfired.
They were without injured captain Steven Gerrard and four other players while the team’s goal-scoring problems showed no signs of ending, with Djibril Cisse and Fernando Morientes having little understanding up front.
Little Thun will supply the romance of this year’s Champions League, so often the domain of the continent’s financial musclemen.
Nine years ago, they were still amateurs plying their trade in the Swiss third division, but on Tuesday they beat 1979 finalists Malmo of Sweden 3-0 for a 4-0 aggregate to take their unlikely place among Europe’s elite for the first time.
Leading 1-0 from the first leg in Sweden two weeks ago, they snatched the lead on Tuesday through Brazilian import Tiago Bernadi in the 26th minute.
Veteran Swiss striker Mauro Lustrinelli added a second goal on the night five minutes before the interval. Lustrinelli then put the tie firmly beyond the reach of Malmo by making it 3-0 in the 66th minute and 4-0 on aggregate.
Also making it through to the next round for the first time were Italian side Udinese, who defeated Sporting Lisbon of Portugal 3-2 on the night for a 4-2 aggregate.
Vincenzo Iaquinta, with a penalty, Cesare Natali and Brazilian star Douala were on target for the Italians, while Barreto and Pinilla replied for Sporting, last season’s Uefa Cup runners-up.
The Portuguese were joined at the exit by 2004 finalists Monaco as well as 1986 winners Steaua Bucharest of Romania.
Didider Deschamps’s Monaco, beaten by Porto in the final in 2004, drew 2-2 with Real Betis but went out 3-2 on aggregate. Two goals from Brazilian Ricardo Oliveira ensured Betis the draw, with his first coming in the 17th minute before Lopez Gerard pulled one back.
Camel Meriem then missed a penalty that would have given Monaco some hope, but the French side did go in front in the 62nd minute through Toifilou Maoulida.
Betis dealt the killer blow in the 76th minute when Oliveira breezed past the Monaco defence to score a fine individual goal.
Steaua were knocked out by Norwegian champions Rosenborg 3-2 and 4-3 on aggregate, while Panathinaikos of Greece completed the night’s qualifiers with a dramatic extra-time winner to beat Wislaw Krakow 4-1 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.
Eight more ties will be decided on Wednesday. — Sapa-AFP