While Austria Vienna were beating their opponent in Saturday’s Austrian Bundesliga match, their mascot, Super Leo the lion, was enjoying himself a little too much.

The Netherlands’ World Cup hangover continues to linger and they remain off the pace in their bid to qualify for Euro 2016, after a 2-0 loss in Iceland.

Last year’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund were just four minutes away from exiting this year’s competition before Kevin Grosskreutz’s scuffed winner in Marseille saw them qualify as group winners.

Lionel Messi ended his mini goal drought with a brace as Barcelona booked their place in the knockout stages of the champions League following a comfortable 3-1 win over AC Milan.

A controversial Mario Balotelli penalty earned AC Milan a 1-1 draw against Ajax.

La Liga’s ‘big two’ go into the new Champions League campaign this week with new coaches in Gerardo Martino and Carlo Ancelotti, fresh expensive superstars in Neymar and Gareth Bale, but the same huge expectations as always.

Swedish coach Erik Hamren has warned that Ireland will set out to be party poopers in Stockholm when the countries meet in a World Cup qualifier on Friday week.

CELTIC’S Europa League campaign ended last night as they drew one-all against Udinese in their thrilling Group I game in the Stadio Friuli.

RYAN DONK’S injury-time winner capped a stunning comeback by Club Brugge, who hit back from 3-0 down to win 4-3 at Maribor and boost their chances of qualifying from UEFA Europa League Group H.

Two goals in the final two minutes saw Udinese overcome Atletico Madrid 2-0 and maintain their unbeaten record in Europa League Group I this evening.

Shamrock Rovers' chairman Jonathan Roche has said the Tottenham Europa League fixtures were "a dream come true" for the fans.

Bohemians 1 Olimpija Ljubljana1 (Olimpija won 3-1 on aggregate)

IN the wake of Shamrock Rovers’ success on Tuesday in the Champions League, it’s Dublin on the double tonight for the Airtricity League in Europe as St Patrick’s Athletic and Bohemians both seek to turn home second legs to their advantage in the Europa League.

LEADING 1-0 from the home leg, Shamrock Rovers still have a lot to do to see off Flora Tallinn in the Champions League in Estonia next Tuesday but, if they can manage that, the Irish champions now know they will face FC Copenhagen in the next round.

HARRY REDKNAPP was yesterday taking nothing for granted after Tottenham were handed the easiest possible route to the Champions League proper.

FULHAM manager Roy Hodgson is relishing the must-win match with Swiss side Basle after his team kept their Europa League hopes alive by beating CSKA Sofia last night.

TOMORROW’s UEFA Cup second qualifying round tie between WIT Georgia and Austria Vienna is to be played in Turkey because of the political situation in Georgia, UEFA have confirmed.

Rangers have confirmed the sale of striker Filip Sebo to French club Valenciennes for an undisclosed fee.

Poland coach Leo Beenhakker has named uncapped striker Dawid Janczyk in a provisional 31-man squad for Euro 2008.

YOU can say what you like about Giovanni Trapattoni — but you can’t argue with his record as a club manager.

TOTTENHAM staged a stunning second-half comeback against Aalborg to edge closer to the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup and maintain Juande Ramos’ unbeaten record.

Fiorentina romped to their first UEFA Cup triumph of the Group C campaign with a crushing 6-1 success at home to Elfsborg to go top of the table.

Tottenham and Bolton will be among the second seeds in today’s draw for the group stage of the UEFA Cup but Everton are in the group of third seeds.

DAVID Bentley expects Blackburn to overturn their 2-0 deficit against Greece‘s Larissa at Ewood Park. “It was totally unacceptable with the way we performed over there,” he said. “But it is about how you react, how you respond. It is only the first half, it is 2-0 with 90 minutes to go, I don’t see 2-0 as a big deficit for us to overcome.

Rangers have offloaded striker Filip Sebo to French side Valenciennes on a season-long loan deal.

A SECOND-HALF equaliser from top scorer Eamon Zayed rescued Drogheda United after Henrik Larsson’s goal had put Helsingborgs in the driving seat in this UEFA Cup second qualifying round first leg.

Czech Republic coach Karel Bruckner has called up Tomas Rosicky for the forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers, apparently convinced the Arsenal midfielder is over his recent groin strain.

The agent of Rangers striker Filip Sebo has claimed the Ibrox club failed in a bid to offload him back to Austria Vienna.

NANCY’S UEFA Cup Group E clash against Feyenoord was suspended for more than 30 minutes last night after trouble broke out in the stands.

TOTTENHAM boss Martin Jol will make a late decision on winger Aaron Lennon ahead of the UEFA Cup meeting with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.

Dundee United 2 Rangers 1

Rangers took themselves to within touching distance of the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup with a win over Maccabi Haifa at Ibrox.

Austria Vienna manager Frenk Schinkels has conceded defeat in his bid to keep defender Sasa Papac from moving to Rangers.

Derry manager Stephen Kenny admits Paris St Germain was the hardest possible UEFA Cup draw for his side but insists the Candystripes will give a good account of themselves against the French giants.

West Ham face a trip to Sicily with a two-legged tie against Palermo in the UEFA Cup first round.

Derry City are unseeded and have been placed in group two for this afternoon's UEFA Cup first round draw in Monaco.

Rangers target Filip Sebo has arranged to meet his club’s billionaire owner today in a desperate attempt to win a move to Ibrox.

Czech Republic midfielder Libor Sionko has completed his move to Rangers.

Liverpool’s Jerzy Dudek is among four goalkeepers named in Poland coach Pawel Janas’ 30-man squad for the March 1 friendly against the United States due to be played at Kaiserslautern’s Fritz Walter stadium.

Hibernian manager Tony Mowbray reckons taking on Dnipro in tonight’s UEFA Cup clash at Easter Road will be as daunting as facing Rangers or Celtic.

Celtic defender Joos Valgaeren has moved back to his homeland.

Sporting Lisbon 4 Newcastle 1 (Agg:4-2)

Newcastle face a potential reunion with Hugo Viana after drawing Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals.

Austria Vienna held on to record the shock victory of the round with a win over Real Zaragoza on away goals to progress to their first European quarter-final for 20 years.