CSKA notch vital win

CSKA Moscow’s defence of their UEFA Cup crown finally gathered pace on Thursday as Vagner Love netted twice in a 2-1 defeat of Levski Sofia.

Having taken just one point from their opening two Group F games, victory against the Bulgarians in the Russian capital was crucial.

Vagner Love scored both his goals in the second half to give Valeri Gazzaev’s men a cushion and they held on despite Valeri Domovchiyski pulling one back late on.

Middlesbrough grabbed the point they needed to ensure their place in the knockout stages with a goalless draw against previously free-scoring AZ Alkmaar in Group D.

Boro are the first team to make sure of their place in the last 32.

A dramatic late show from Danijel Ljuboja gave 10-man Stuttgart a 2-1 victory in their Group G clash with PAOK Salonika to ease the pressure on under-fire boss Giovanni Trapattoni.

For much of the match it seemed that a Hristos Karipidis header had won the game for the hosts.

However, Ljuboja’s late goals, including a penalty, were sufficient for Stuttgart to claim the spoils despite the sending-off of Silvio Meissner.

In the other game in the group a late winner from Rapid Bucharest’s Marius Maldarasanu ensured that Razvan Lucescu got the better of his father Mircea with a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

All attention had focused on the father-son battle between the two coaches going into the clash and it looked like peace would be maintained in the Lucescu household before Maldarasanu’s intervention.

Alexander Kerzhakov netted twice to put Zenit St Petersburg on the brink of qualification from Group H with a 2-1 win over Sevilla.

Kerzhakov opened the scoring in the first half and then doubled the hosts’ advantage in the 89th minute.

Sevilla rallied late on, pulling one back through Antonio Puerta, and only a fine save from home keeper Kamil Contofalsky prevented the Primera Liga side from scraping a point.

An 83rd-minute goal from striker Karel Pitak helped Slavia Prague to an 2-2 away draw against Viking who took the lead twice in their Group A showdown.