PSG, Fulham dumped out of Europe
Paris Saint Germain may or may not end up offering David Beckham a
spell in the twilight of his career, but the former England star will
not find any Europa League fare on his menu after the capital club were
eliminated Wednesday.
PSG beat already-qualified Athletic Bilbao 4-2 at the Parc des
Princes to hand the Spaniards their first loss of the tournament.
But the win was not enough as Salzburg won 3-2 at Slovan Bratislava
to see the Austrians take second place in Group F.
That means there is no chance of the Parisians getting an attractive
knockout round date with Champions League dropouts Manchester United,
Beckham's former club, when Friday's draw is made at Nyon.
Also on the European scrapheap are English Premier League side Fulham,
runners-up in 2010 but who squandered a two-goal lead to draw at home to
Denmark's Odense.
The Danes bagged their leveller in the third minute of time added on
at Craven Cottage through substitute Djiby Fall's header after Hans
Henrik Andreasen had reduced the deficit following goals for the hosts
from Clint Dempsey and Kerim Frei.
The result means Poland's Wisla Krakow progress instead after beating
group winners FC Twente of the Netherlands.
Recent media reports in France had suggested that PSG's owners, Qatar
Sport Investments (QSI), had offered Beckham a lucrative contract to
become the figurehead of their drive to turn the under-achieving side
into one of Europe's top clubs.
PSG, joint top of the French league table with Montpellier as they
chase down a first domestic crown since 1994, spent 85 million euros in
the summer following a Qatari buyout but the influx has not translated
into success on the European stage and they now must ensure they reach
the Champions League via a strong Ligue 1 finish.
Coach Antoine Kombouare has been under the microscope in recent weeks
following some poor results and the pressure will now only increase with
just the league title to aim for. Kombouare was candid afterwards at his
men's shortcomings.
"It's a big disappointment, we really should have got through this
group. But we weren't able to do what we had to - now we have to get
over it and do better in the league and French Cup."
PSG sporting director Leonardo denied that the axe would fall on the
man in the dugout and told reporters: "That was one of our season
targets. So we are disappointed. It cannot be good for us to be
eliminated - we wanted to go right through to the end."
Elsewhere, Lazio reached the last 32 with a 2-0 win over Group D
winners Sporting Lisbon.
English Premier league side Stoke went down 3-1 at Besiktas despite
Ricardo Fuller giving them the lead but had already qualified from Group
E.
Manuel Fernandes equalised with a penalty spot after Matthew Upson
was sent off for felling Hugo Almeida, and substitutes Mustafa Pektemek
and Edu secured the win at a heaving Inonu Stadium, leaving the Turks as
group winners.
Eight of the 32 sides in the knockout round will comprise United and
City's fellow Champions League failures - Turkey's Trabzonspor, Ajax,
Valencia, Olympiakos, Porto, and Plzen. AFP |