Uefa Cup mathday three roundup: Simao hits the net

Sean Gillen rounds up the Uefa Cup action last night involving clubs with Portuguese players.

Atletico Madrid (Spa) 2-0 Aberdeen (Sco)
Simao Sabrosa scored as Atletico Madrid moved into second in Group B with a win over Scottish side Aberdeen at the Vicente Calderon. All three of Los Rojiblancos’ Portuguese players were rested from the starting line-up, with Ze Castro, Maniche and Simao taking their places on the bench.

Diego Forlan put the hosts ahead in first-half injury time, and manager Javier Aguirre introduced Simao for the second period. It proved a wise decision, as the former Benfica captain curled home a trademark free-kick just after the hour mark. Maniche came on for the last twenty minutes for Atletico.


AEK Athens (Gre) 1-1 Fiorentina (Ita)
AEK Athens drew for the second match running in Group C after being held 1-1 at home by Italians Fiorentina. Portuguese midfielder Manu played the full match in midfield for the Greeks, who fell behind on 29 minutes to Osvaldo’s strike, before equalising five minutes later through Balzaretti’s own goal.


Bolton Wanderers (Eng) 1-1 Aris (Gre)
Premiership side Bolton drew for the third successive game, following an injury time equaliser in their match with Greeks Aris at the Reebok. With no Ricardo Vaz Te in the squad, the English outfit fell behind just before the break when Toni scored for Aris, but Stelios Giannakopolous earned a point with a goal against his countrymen.


Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) 3-2 Aalborg BK (Den)
Tottenham Hotspur came from 2-0 down at half time to beat Danes AaB at White Hart Lane and go top of Group G. Thomas Enevoldsen and Kasper Risgard gave the visitors a shock half-time lead, but Spurs boss Juande Ramos made crucial changes at the break.

Substitute Tom Huddlestone set up Dimitar Berbatov to pull one back just one minute after the re-start, before Steed Malbranque levelled (51) and fellow new introduction Darren Bent grabbed a 61st minute winner. Ricardo Rocha, still recovering from ankle surgery, was not available for the London club.


Panionios (Gre) 0-3 Galatasaray (Tur)
Panionios sit fourth in Group H with just one point from their opening two games. The Greeks, without striker Lourenco, were subjected to a hammering at their Panionios Stadium by Turks Galatasaray, who scored three times in the second half through Serkan (50), Rigobert Song (63) and Hakan Sukur (82).