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Spanish trio earn their UEFA Cup spurs
PARIS (AFP) - Fredi Kanoute scored a controversial penalty as holders Sevilla beat his former English Premiership side Spurs 2-1 in their UEFA Cup quarter-final first leg clash on Thursday to make it a good night all round for Spain's three representatives.
Osasuna perhaps came up with the result of the night beating 1988 UEFA Cup winners Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 away while the other Spanish side Barcelona-based Espanyol will be kicking themselves despite beating Benfica 3-2 at home as they let slip a 3-0 lead.
The night's other match saw AZ Alkmaar coached by Louis van Gaal, the former manager of Espanyol's city rivals Barcelona, held 0-0 at home by Bundesliga highflyers Werder Bremen.
Kanoute's goal levelled out the match after Republic of Ireland skipper Robbie Keane had given Spurs the ideal start by scoring inside two minutes.
Alexandr Kerzhakov's goal for Sevilla close to half-time kept the Spanish side's hopes alive of becoming only the second side to retain the trophy - the other being Real Madrid.
The penalty decision, though, remained the burning issue and had both Keane and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson fuming.
Robinson was astonished by the decision.
"I got both my hands on the ball," said the England goalkeeper.
"The referee said afterwards that 'you got your hands on the ball and then took the man out' but surely that is a fair challenge."
Keane went even further.
"I thought the penalty was a disgrace," said the Republic of Ireland captain.
"To get an early goal and then get a decision like that! It left the lads devastated."
Sevilla coach Juande Ramos, whose natural attacking style has attracted many other clubs including rumours that he could replace Jose Mourinho at Chelsea should the Portuguese coach go, admitted his side faced a tough task to retain the trophy.
"We've got a goal advantage but against Spurs at home, with the crowd behind them, it's going to be a very tough game. It's a very slim advantage," conceded Ramos.
Osasuna played well above their mid-table status and scored an even earlier goal than Spurs as Javier Cuellar headed home within the first minute.
Bayer - who went down to their heaviest ever home defeat in European football - never really recovered from that early blow, which wasn't exactly helped by one of their central defenders Juan opting to play up front more often than trekking back to defend as he was intended.
Leverkusen coach Michael Skibbe looked shellshocked watching from the bench and had barely recovered afterwards, but at least had the honesty to admit Bayer's chances of progressing were not good.
"Our chances of going through are about one percent," was his honest appraisal.
For his Osasuna counterpart Angel Ziganda it was a day dream for as he termed it his 'Davids' against 'Goliaths'.
"It's a great day for Osasuna," he said. "We are proud to have won 3-0 on the pitch of a big side like Leverkusen because we are only a small team."
While Skibbe may not be feeling very bouncy, there was no stopping the traditional self confidence of Alkmaar handler Louis van Gaal, not one known for lack of self-appreciation.
Despite his side barely managing one worthwhile effort on goal, the former Dutch national coach believed other factors had contributed to the result with Werder.
"We played really well but the referee blew the whistle against us throughout the match," moaned van Gaal.
"And the ball UEFA provided was of not very good quality."
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