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Bayern, Rangers thru
Associated Press
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 12 - 04 - 2008

Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni scored two goals in the last five minutes of extra time Thursday to earn the Bundesliga leader a 3-3 draw at Getafe and a place in the semifinals of the UEFA Cup.
The unheralded Spanish club looked to have made it through when Javier Casquero and Braulio Nobrega scored in the first three minutes of extra time, but Toni earned the four-time European champion a 4-4 aggregate draw and a place in the next round on away goals.
Bayern will next meet Zenit St. Petersburg after the Russian team progressed past Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 despite a 1-0 home loss.
Fiorentina won at PSV Eindhoven 2-0 to go through, while Rangers upset host Sporting Lisbon to win 2-0.
Getafe, which is coached by former FC Barcelona and Real Madrid great Michael Laudrup, had earned a 1-1 draw at Bayern last week to give itself a shot at progressing, and Cosmin Contra put the Spanish team ahead Thursday in the 44th with his second goal of the series.
The Romania international cut inside from the right wing and made it into the penalty area to hit a swerving shot past goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.
But France winger Franck Ribery earned Bayern another shot to advance with a minute of regular time remaining when he collected a deflected flick by Toni and scored past goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri.
That seemed to give Bayern a psychological edge but Casquero made it 2-1 in the first minute of extra time with a shot from Braulio's pass, and the substitute appeared to have secured an upset win two minutes later with a close-range shot.
But Toni got a goal back for the Bundesliga leaders with five minutes remaining and, in the last moments, scored his tournament-leading 10th UEFA Cup goal with a downward header at the far post from a cross by Jose Ernesto Sosa.
Bayern will host Zenit in the first leg of the semifinals on April 24. The Russian team withstood its loss because of a 4-1 win at Leverkusen last week.
The German team went on the attack from the kick off, but Dmitri Bulykin headed in the only goal from an 18th-minute cross by Gonzalo Castro.
Sporting was favored to advance past Rangers after drawing 0-0 at the Scottish league leaders last week, but surrendered the advantage in the 60th when Jean-Claude Darschville scored from a right-wing cross by Steven Davis.
That left Sporting needing to score two goals and Steven Whittaker made the most of the home team's desperation in injury time when he dispossessed Abel Ferreira and scored with a right-foot shot past goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
Rangers meets Fiorentina next after the Italian team won in the Netherlands with two goals from Adrian Mutu.
The Romania striker put his team ahead 2-1 on aggregate in the 38th with a long-range free kick into the top corner and made the game secure eight minutes in the second half from a rebound after Giampaolo Pazzini's shot was saved. The away legs of the semis are scheduled for May 1, with the final at the City of Manchester Stadium in England on May 14. __


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