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Sevilla, Espanyol set up maiden all-Spanish UEFA final
May 4, 2007 - 12:02:55 PM
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Bremen held on until half-time but elimination was virtually assured four minutes after the restart when goalkeeper Andreas Reinke - standing in for Tim Wiese who was suspended after being sent off in the first leg - parried a cross into the path of Coro, who tapped the ball into the empty net from eight metres.
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By DPA,
[RxPG] Seville -, May 4 - Defending champions Sevilla will face Espanyol in the first ever all-Spanish UEFA Cup final in Glasgow May 16 after both sides celebrated victories in their respective semi-final matches.
Espanyol headed into their match Thursday against Werder Bremen, holding a 3-0 lead from the first leg and secured a 2-1 win thanks to second-half goals from Coro and Jesus Maria Lacruz.
Sevilla faced a slightly tougher task as they trailed fellow Primera Liga side Osasuna 1-0.
But the visitors paid the price for an overly cautious defensive display as Brazilians Luis Fabiano and Renato ensured a 2-0 win on the night to ensure that Sevilla go into their second successive UEFA final on a 2-1 aggregate.
'The fans were wonderful tonight,' said Luis Fabiano. 'The same as last year, they have really helped us get into the final.'
Roared on by the near-capacity crowd in the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan, Sevilla dominated right from the start but the first goal did not arrive until the 37th minute, when the Osasuna defence failed to cut out a long ball from Duda.
Luis Fabiano pushed his way past two slow defenders and beat keeper Ricardo Lopez with a low shot.
The second goal came in the 53rd minute when Daniel Alves picked out the deep run of the unmarked Renato, and the latter scored with a deft left-foot volley.
The closest that the visitors came to scoring a crucial away goal was when Webo headed a corner against the post.
The only bad news for Sevilla was that French defender Julien Escude picked up another yellow card and will miss the Glasgow final.
Bremen trailed 0-3 from the first leg but got off to the perfect start when on four minutes Hugo Almeida took advantage of a mix-up in the Spaniards' defence, lobbing advancing Espanyol goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz to make it 1-0.
However, the tie turned for Thomas Schaaf's side on 19 minutes when German international Miroslav Klose received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card for a blatant dive.
The unsettled striker was earlier booked for leading with his elbow going into a challenge with Espanyol's Daniel Jarque.
'When a referee sends a player off for two yellow cards after 20 minutes then he has decided the match,' said an unhappy Schaaf afterwards.
Bremen held on until half-time but elimination was virtually assured four minutes after the restart when goalkeeper Andreas Reinke - standing in for Tim Wiese who was suspended after being sent off in the first leg - parried a cross into the path of Coro, who tapped the ball into the empty net from eight metres.
Lacruz headed home a Luis Garcia to make it 2-1 for the visitors shortly after the hour mark to secure a 5-1 aggregate win.
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