The decision by Robson to bring in Spain's outstanding Euro '96 defender,
Miguel Nadal, for his European debut this season as the central defender to
shore up the 3-1 win in the first leg effectively closed the door on the
player's hopes of a move to Old Trafford, where he had been offered a
three-year contract at double his present earnings with the Catalan club.
By playing in the Cup-Winners' Cup he would not then be able to help
Manchester United's European Champions' League campaign.
Red Star, 1991 European champions, took the lead in the 47th minute last
night through a diving header by Zoran Jovicic. Brazilian Giovanni levelled
in the 48th minute with a fierce shot.
Paris St Germain, the Cup-Winners' Cup holders, clawed back their two-goal
deficit to overwhelm Galatasaray 6-4 on aggregate.
Brazilian Leonardo, Panamanian Dely Valdes, Patrice Loko and Rai all found
the net for a 4-0 victory at the Parc des Princes last night.
Norwegian underdogs Brann Bergen knocked Dutch league leaders PSV Eindhoven
out, securing a 2-2 draw in Holland to advance 4-3 on aggregate.
Holding a 2-1 first-leg lead, Brann opened the scoring in the 35th minute
when Geir Hasund converted from one of the Norwegian side's rare breakaway
attacks. PSV squandered a series of good chances in the first half and then
Tore Andre Flo put the match out of PSV's reach in the 60th minute.
Rene Eijkelkamp and Boudewijn Zenden scored for PSV in the 75th and 82nd
minutes to level the second leg at 2-2, but it was too little too late for
the Dutch side.
Fiorentina booked their place in the quarter-finals after holding Sparta
Prague to a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Prague.
The Italians, who won 2-1 in Florence two weeks ago, were rocked by an
early goal and then failed to create a single scoring opportunity in the
opening 45 minutes.
But they piled on the pressure in the second half and were rewarded with
Anselmo Robbiati's equaliser.
Lokomotiv Moscow lost defender Sergei Gurenko on a second caution, and had
their manager, Yuri Syomin, banished from the bench as Portugal's Benfica
overcame an early strike to run out 3-2 winners and advance 4-2 on
aggregate.
Andrei Solomatin scored in the ninth minute for the Moscow team, and after
Gurenko's dismissal, had another disallowed for offside early in the second
half.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Vladica Trenkic | Numerical Modelling Group, | Tel: +44 (0)115 9515151x2055 | Department of Electrical | Fax: +44 (0)115 9515616 | & Electronic Engineering, | E-mail: vmt@eee.nott.ac.uk | University of Nottingham, | http://www.nml.eee.nott.ac.uk/~vmt | United Kingdom | -----------------------------------------------------------------------