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Saturday April 18, 2009

UEFA Cup final will be a German-Ukrainian showdown

LONDON: The UEFA Cup final will be contested by German and Ukrainian teams after Werder Bremen and Hamburg along with Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk set up domestic semi-final showdowns.

Brazilian playmaker Diego scored twice, as he did in the quarter-final first leg, to help Werder draw 3-3 with Udinese in Italy on Thursday to record a 6-4 aggregate victory.

Bundesliga rivals Hamburg await Werder. Martin Jol’s side lost 2-1 at Manchester City but progressed 4-3 on aggregate.

Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine can also look forward to a scrap between their two top sides.

Joy of winning: Hamburg players celebrate after their UEFA Cup quarter-final secondleg match against Manchester City on Thursday. —AP

Dynamo brushed past Paris St Germain 3-0 in Kiev after a goalless first leg while Shakhtar won 2-1 at Marseille to eliminate the French league leaders 4-1 over the two ties.

Diego again proved the thorn in Udinese’s side after the mid-table Serie A team had threatened to pull off a thrilling comeback in Udine.

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg, the home side cancelled out Werder’s advantage by the break only for the Germans to hit back with Diego getting his second of the game and then missing a penalty. Claudio Pizarro fired Werder level on the night.

Brazilian midfielder Elano also played the starring role for Manchester City but the Premier League side just fell short despite a spirited display.

Elano fired home a 17th minute penalty to cancel out Paolo Guerrero’s opener and struck the post and crossbar from freekicks as Hamburg rode their luck after conceding a second goal to Felipe Caicedo.

“To get to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup is fantastic,“ Hamburg manager Jol told ITV.

Asked who were the favourites in the all-German semi-final, Jol added: “Bremen probably have more experience.

“Tonight we had to play three younger kids but they did very well ... we have a talented team.”

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