Feyenoord and Paris Saint-Germain _ two clubs whose last UEFA Cup matches were marred by violence _ reached the round of 32 in Europe's second-tier competition on Wednesday, and were joined by Ajax, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Celta Vigo and Fenerbahce.
Both Feyenoord and PSG claimed their first victories in the group stage. Feyenoord downed Wisla Krakow 3-1 in Group F and PSG beat Panathinaikos 4-0 at home in Group G _ to ensure they finished in the top three of their group.
In other results, it was: Blackburn 1, Nancy 0 in Group E; Espanyol 1, Austria Vienna 0 and Zulte-Waregem 0, Ajax 3 in Group F; Hapoel Tel Aviv 1, Mlada Boleslav 1 in Group G; and Fenerbahce 2, Eintracht Frankfurt 2 and Palermo 1, Celta Vigo 1 in Group H.
Angelos Charisteas scored from a 67th-minute header to give Feyenoord the win in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The Dutch side led on Nicky Hofs' header in the 16th minute, with Wisla's Pawel Brozek equalizing in the 23rd. Midfielder Jonathan de Guzman of Toronto restored Feyenoord's lead in the 40th minute by converting Joonas Kolkka's cross.
Wisla Krakow finished with 10 men after Dariusz Dudka was dismissed in the 79th for a foul Hofs.
Earlier this month, UEFA fined Feyenoord C125,000 (C$192,000) for crowd trouble during its Nov. 30 UEFA Cup match at Nancy.
The Dutch club's fans rioted and smashed windows in the French town before ripping out and throwing seats during Nancy's 3-0 victory. Police lobbed tear gas in Marcel-Picot Stadium, forcing the referee to temporarily halt the match.
Pauleta and Bonaventure Kalou each scored twice in PSG's win over Panathinaikos. Kalou set up Pauleta for his opening goal in the 29th, and the Portuguese international tallied again in 47th. Kalou scored in the 52nd and 54th minutes.
Paris Saint-Germain's stadium was surrounded by about 2,000 police and 700 security staff in the first match played at Parc des Princes since a fan was shot to death by a plainclothes policeman outside the ground on Nov. 23.
The four remaining clubs for the next round will be determined on Thursday when the final eight group games are played.
Clubs already assured of advancing are Scotland's Rangers; Israel's Maccabi Haifa; England's Tottenham, Blackburn and Newcastle; Romania's Dinamo Bucharest; Italy's Parma; France's Nancy; defending champion Sevilla and Espanyol of Spain; Belgium's Zulte Waregem and Greece's Panathinaikos.
Russia's Spartak Moscow and Dutch club AZ Alkmaar also have qualified.
Werder Bremen, Spartak Moscow, Bordeaux, Shakhtar Donetsk, Steaua Bucharest, Benfica, AEK Athens and 2005 UEFA Cup champion CSKA Moscow, will enter the draw from the European Champions League.
The draw for the next two rounds of the UEFA Cup will be conducted Friday in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw for the quarter-finals, semifinals and finals is set for March 16 in Glasgow, Scotland, the site of the May 16 final.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
